Retro gaming is being overrun with AI

<figure> <img alt="" data-caption="" data-portal-copyright="Image: Cath Virginia / The Verge" data-has-syndication-rights="1" src="https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/01/STK465_VIDEO_GAMES_EMULATOR__CVirginia_D.jpg?quality=90&#038;strip=all&#038;crop=0,0,100,100" /> <figcaption> </figcaption> </figure> <p class="has-drop-cap wp-block-paragraph">Retro video games are everywhere lately - especially in places where they aren't supposed to be. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/games/1004952/open-halo-ce-web"><em>Halo</em> in a web browser</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/games/1005911/this-zelda-wind-waker-recomp-is-making-me-question-my-commitment-to-authenticity"><em>Wind Waker</em> on the iPhone</a>, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/games/1015804/smash-bros-in-your-living-room-xelee-mixed-reality-quest-3-port" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.theverge.com/games/1015804/smash-bros-in-your-living-room-xelee-mixed-reality-quest-3-port"><em>Super Smash Bros.</em> in mixed reality</a>. Over the past month or so, these kinds of unexpected projects have gone viral with incredible frequency thanks to new AI tools, as hobbyists take apart games and then rebuild them for new platforms. But while AI has supercharged the pace of these ports, it's also tearing apart tight-knit communities dedicated to preserving games.</p> <p class="wp-block-paragraph">Decomps and recomps - shorthand for decomposition and recomposition - are <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23301428/legend-of-zelda-ship-of-harkinian" data-type="link" data-id="https://www.theverge.com/23301428/legend-of-zelda-ship-of-harkinian">a form of reverse engineering</a> that involves breaking a game …</p> <p><a href="https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/1015430/ai-retro-games-decomp-recomp-port">Read the full story at The Verge.</a></p>