OpenGOAL update brings Jak and Daxter PC port closer to ARM64

The Jak and Daxter PC port has just reached a milestone that matters more than it might sound at first. OpenGOAL, the project that brings Naughty Dog’s PlayStation 2 platformers to PC as native applications, has made major progress on ARM64 support. That’s a big deal. Not because it adds a shiny new menu or a pile of graphics settings. It doesn’t. This update goes much deeper. It’s about getting the game’s code ready to run properly on modern ARM-based hardware, including Apple Silicon Macs, Windows on ARM laptops and smaller low-power devices that use ARM chips. For years, PC gaming mostly meant x86 processors from Intel or AMD. That’s still true for most desktop towers and gaming laptops. But the ground is shifting.

Why ARM64 matters for PC gaming

ARM64 used to feel like something that belonged to phones, tablets and lightweight laptops. That’s no longer true. Apple Silicon changed expectations. MacBooks with M-series chips showed that ARM laptops can be fast, quiet and power efficient. Windows on ARM still has work to do, but it’s no longer a curiosity. Snapdragon X laptops have put ARM PCs in front of a much bigger audience.

That creates a simple question for older and rebuilt PC games: do they run through translation, or do they run natively? Translation layers can be impressive. Apple’s Rosetta 2 is a good example. But translation still means the system has to do extra work. For games, that can affect performance, battery life and consistency. A native ARM64 build removes that extra step.

For a game like Jak and Daxter, that could make a real difference on thin laptops and compact devices. You don’t always need a huge GPU for a PlayStation 2-era game. You do need efficient code, clean frame pacing and good controller support. Native ARM64 support helps with that. This isn’t emulation.

OpenGOAL is interesting because it doesn’t work like a standard emulator.

With emulation, your computer pretends to be another machine. In this case, that would mean recreating enough of the PlayStation 2 to run the original game. That approach can work very well, but it carries overhead. The PC has to imitate the old hardware while running the game on top.

OpenGOAL takes a different path. The project decompiles the original game code into GOAL, the custom Lisp-based programming language Naughty Dog used for the Jak and Daxter games. It then recompiles that code into a native application for modern systems. That’s the clever part.

The game logic still comes from the original title, and users still need their own legal copy of the game to extract the required assets. But once the assets are in place, the game runs more like a native PC program than a console being simulated in software. It’s a technical approach that makes platform support much more interesting. Once the compiler can target another CPU architecture, the project gets closer to running well on that hardware without leaning on an emulator or translation layer.

What else is in version 0.3.5

The ARM64 work gets the attention, and rightly so, but OpenGOAL 0.3.5 also includes a few practical fixes. The build system now disables libpsl when compiling libcurl. That won’t mean much to most players, but it can reduce build headaches for people compiling the project themselves. These small dependency fixes matter. They make the software less fragile.

The controller database has also been updated. That should help newer gamepads work with less fuss. For a 3D platformer, controller support isn’t a nice extra. It’s central to how the game feels.

There’s also a fallback fix for splash screens. If the engine can’t find a localised splash screen, it can fall back to the English version before accessing the map. Again, not flashy. Still useful. These are the kinds of fixes that make a project feel cleaner in daily use.

What players need to know

OpenGOAL doesn’t give you a free copy of Jak and Daxter. You still need a legally owned PlayStation 2 version of the game so the tool can extract the original assets, including textures, models, audio and other data.

The supported releases include retail PAL, NTSC and NTSC-J discs, along with Greatest Hits editions. The later PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions don’t apply here.

That’s worth spelling out because this isn’t a normal remaster installer. It’s a native port toolchain and runtime. Once set up, it can feel like a PC version, but it still depends on files taken from your own disc.

Where the games stand

The first Jak and Daxter is already in strong shape through OpenGOAL. It’s the most complete and polished part of the project. Jak II is also playable and far along, though it still has some rough edges. Jak 3 needs more work and remains the bigger long-term challenge.

That makes the ARM64 progress even more useful. It doesn’t just help one game. It strengthens the technical base that the whole project depends on. Better compiler support today gives future builds more room to grow across different systems.

Why this update matters

This is the kind of update that doesn’t look dramatic from the outside. There’s no new trailer moment. No flashy comparison shot. No huge visual overhaul. But for a native PC port, compiler work is everything.

If the compiler can target more hardware, the port becomes less tied to one kind of PC. That matters now because PCs don’t all look the same anymore. A gaming system might be a desktop tower, a Steam Deck-style handheld, a MacBook, a mini PC or a Windows on ARM notebook.

The Jak and Daxter PC port isn’t fully there on ARM64 yet. Nobody should read this as a finished release for every ARM device. But the direction is clear. OpenGOAL has moved closer to native ARM64 support, and that could make the port faster, cleaner and more practical on the next wave of efficient gaming hardware. That’s the real story here. Not hype. Not nostalgia. Just serious engineering work pushing a classic PlayStation 2 game further into the modern PC space.