Pinyon Shift

The Xbox 360 release of Forza Horizon, recompiled to run natively on Windows, Linux, the Steam Deck and Apple silicon Macs, with an Android alpha.
Built on your own PC from your own disc, with internal resolutions up to 4K.

Download the launcher · Documentation · How to play · Roadmap · Support development

Pinyon Shift is not an emulator. The game's PowerPC code is translated ahead of time into C++ with ShiftGlue, our fork of ReXGlue, and compiled on your computer. A renderer written for Forza Horizon runs the game's GPU commands on Vulkan.

This repository holds the launcher, build tools, host code and configuration. It does not contain the game, its assets, generated translations or a prebuilt executable: you build the game from a disc you own.

Playable preview. Expect some rendering bugs and slowdowns. The 0.5.0 release notes list what the latest release contains and its known limitations.

Highlights

• Native code. The game's executable is recompiled ahead of time; nothing is interpreted or JIT-compiled while you play.
• 60 and 120 fps at the right game speed, instead of the console's 30.
• 1x to 4x internal resolution, FSR 1 output scaling, anisotropic filtering, FXAA, ultrawide support, and optional bloom, motion blur and depth of field.
• In-game settings (F6) and a trainer (F10: credits, game speed, time of day, free camera), photo export, save backups and mods.
• HDR, your music and an immersive camera. HDR output with calibration, your own music in game or as custom radio stations, and an optional camera that reacts to the car. See Settings and controls.
• Your DLC. Owned Xbox 360 packages are verified and imported. Car packs work, and Rally and 1000 Club run on the optional title update v4 build.
• Linux and Steam Deck. A native Linux build, no Proton: 60 fps at 1x on the Deck within its 15 W limit, and Add to Steam puts it in Game Mode. See Linux and Steam Deck.
• macOS on Apple silicon. Vulkan on Metal through MoltenVK, built into the game. See macOS.
• Android handhelds (alpha). 60 fps on Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 handhelds. See Android.
• The Treasure Map included. This add-on was sold through a service that no longer exists. It is on by default and can be turned off in the launcher.

Performance

On an RTX 4080 the scripted race runs at a median of 119 fps at 1x and 2x (with the game's 4x MSAA), and 102 fps at 3x (3840×2160). On the console the game runs at 30 fps. The Low-spec 60 preset holds 60 fps on 4 CPU cores in simulated runs and needs about 1.1 GB of graphics memory. Android handhelds with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 hold about 60 fps with the SMOOTH 60 preset.

Methods, the comparison with Xenia, and the full tables are in Performance.

Play

1. Download PinyonShift-Launcher.zip from the latest release.
2. Extract it to a folder and run PinyonShiftLauncher.exe.
3. Drop the ISO you dumped from your own disc onto the launcher, or choose it with Choose ISO. An unmodified extracted folder also works.
4. Confirm ownership, then choose Verify and build.
5. Leave the launcher open while it installs the build tools and builds the game. The first build takes 20–60 minutes and needs about 30 GB of free disk space. Nothing needs installing by hand. If Windows must restart, setup continues after you sign in.
6. Choose Play. Press F6 in game for settings.

Your disc image and game files stay on your machine; the launcher only downloads build tools and the ShiftGlue source. The launcher is not code-signed yet, so Windows may warn about it: download it only from this repository's releases.

On Linux or a Steam Deck, download PinyonShift-Launcher-linux-x86_64.tar.gz instead, extract it and run PinyonShiftLauncher; after the build, Add to Steam puts the game in Game Mode. The steps are in Linux and Steam Deck. On a Mac, download PinyonShift-Launcher-macos-arm64.zip; see macOS.

To install on another drive, make a portable install, change the language, or read the launcher's settings, see Installing and setup. If something goes wrong, see Troubleshooting.

Requirements

• The USA retail disc, serial MS-2505, title ID 4D5309C9.
• Windows 10 or 11, x64; x86-64 Linux, including SteamOS on the Steam Deck; or macOS 13 or newer on Apple silicon.
• A GPU with Vulkan 1.3. NVIDIA is tested; AMD and Intel are not yet qualified.
• A CPU with 4 cores for Low-spec 60. The Steam Deck holds 60 fps at 1x; other integrated graphics are not measured yet.

Android (developer alpha)

The Android build is the same recompiled game, cross-compiled for arm64 on your PC from your own disc and installed on your own device. It needs Android 13 or later and Vulkan 1.3, and is tuned for Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 or newer with 8 GB of memory.

1. Once the game plays on the PC, choose Android in the launcher, then Build APK.
2. Choose Share on Wi-Fi and scan the QR code with the device's camera to install the app.
3. Open Pinyon Shift on the device and enter the six-digit code the launcher shows. The app copies the game, your DLC and, if you choose, your PC save.

No USB debugging is needed. The bundled Mesa Turnip driver is selected automatically on Adreno 7xx, and the in-game SMOOTH 60 and QUALITY 30 presets cover the common setups. USB and command-line installs, drivers and saves are covered in docs/ANDROID.md.

Reporting bugs

Keep the launcher open while playing. If the game exits unexpectedly, the launcher creates a sanitized diagnostic ZIP and opens a prefilled GitHub issue; attach the ZIP it selects and the shortest steps that reproduce the problem. For other bugs use Report a problem in the launcher. Reports never include the game, your saves or local paths. Please don't attach game files or generated code.

Build from source

From PowerShell in a repository checkout:

.\tools\setup-preview.ps1 -IsoPath C:\path\to\your-disc.iso
.\tools\launch-preview.ps1

See Building for details and the tools/pinyon.py command line.

Roadmap

In progress: crash, stutter and rendering fixes, faster Android rendering on tiled GPUs, and documenting the game's code. Next: AMD and Intel qualification, and draw distance and world detail settings. The full list, with what's done, is in the roadmap.

Project boundaries

Only independently authored project files are licensed under the BSD 3-Clause License. Microsoft, Xbox, Turn 10 Studios, Playground Games, Forza Horizon, and third-party dependencies remain the property of their respective owners. Pinyon Shift is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. See Legal and distribution and Third-party notices.

Contributing

Start with CONTRIBUTING.md. Repository checks reject disc images, executables, generated translations, extracted assets, build products, and other machine-local material.

Supporting the project

Pinyon Shift is and will remain free. Every release, feature and setting is public on the same day for everyone. There are no supporter builds, early access, paid features or paid mods, and there never will be.

If you would like to support continued development, you can sponsor arcanite24 on GitHub or buy me a coffee on Ko-fi. Contributions pay for development time and test hardware, such as Android devices and lower-end GPUs. They do not buy builds, game content, priority support or influence over the roadmap. Support is for the work on this project, not for Forza Horizon, which remains the property of its owners.

Sharing the project, reporting bugs with a diagnostic ZIP and contributing code help just as much. Come say hi, ask for help or report bugs on the Discord server.