It was in May last year when native PC ports for GameCube games suddenly became a reality. That was when Mario Party 4 was decompiled, leading to much discussion around the future of popular GameCube-era titles on PC. Of course, a great amount of work has been put into the popular Dolphin Emulator over the years, but a native PC version allows the game to run as a standalone executable, which is ideal for a low-power system like the Steam Deck.

Popular Steam Deck-focused YouTuber Steam Deck HQ has demonstrated how well the game runs on Valve’s handheld system. They compare it favorably to the Dolphin version. You’ll also be glad to know that “it’s extremely easy to set up,” only requiring a single download; like with emulation, you’ll need to provide an Animal Crossing ISO yourself.

Native PC port for Animal Crossing is now available

Like with most of these projects, the files are available to download on GitHub, this time via the ‘ACGC-PC-Port’ page. As you’d expect, the project is described as an unofficial PC port of Animal Crossing for the Nintendo GameCube. This is the first game from the popular life/social simulation series. With the native port, the game runs flawlessly on the Deck’s Linux-based SteamOS via Proton – Proton GE 10-32 is used in the video demonstration below.

“As for performance, it’s basically flawless on the Steam Deck. It runs at a solid 60 FPS and sticks around 7 watt to 8 watt battery drain, depending on where you are. And it fully supports the gamepad, so you don’t have to change the control scheme at all when you go to play it. The game just wonderful to play on the Steam Deck, especially this way.”

Steam Deck HQ

After you’ve set everything up and start the game, you’ll of course be met with the main menu screen, which features an ‘Options’ page. If you were to play on a GameCube, you’d find settings such as sound, text-scrolling speeds, or time/date. In this PC port, however, you have access to some options:

• Resolution (640×480 is the default, but 1280×720 works best on Steam Deck) – up to 4K possible
• Display (Windowed/Borderless/Fullscreen)
• VSync
• MSSA (anti-aliasing)
• Textures (can be preloaded & cached, ideal if using a custom texture pack)

Steam Deck HQ says that, compared to Dolphin, the native PC port handles display better without stretching the image, which will happen with emulation when trying to render at 16:9 (assuming you’re not using an additional ‘widescreen hack’ to fix this). It just works on the native PC build.

Overall, a fantastic port for fans of Animal Crossing. And if we’re basing the fact that Stardew Valley was the most played Steam Deck game of 2025, it’s easy to say that owners of the popular handheld do love a cozy, light-hearted, relaxing title.

About the Author

Jack Goodall

At PC Guide, Jack is mostly responsible for reporting on hardware deals. He also specializes in monitors, TVs, and headsets and can be found putting his findings together in a review or best-of guide.