NeXo 2 | Emulator for Nintendo Switch 2

NeXo 2 is an open-source research project focused on the study and analysis of the Nintendo Switch 2 (T239) hardware architecture. The project aims to document the system components and experiment with hybrid compatibility layers (a mix of HLE and LLE) using C++20..

Project Objectives

• Architecture Documentation: Comprehensive analysis of the Nvidia T239 (Drake) SoC and its ARMv8/v9 instruction set extensions.
• Memory Management: Research into LPDDR5X memory layouts and virtual address space orchestration.
• Binary Translation: Implementation of high-performance translation layers, exploring both interpretive and Dynamic Recompilation (JIT) methods.
• Graphics Subsystem: Experimental mapping of NVN2 API calls to Vulkan 1.3 primitives.

Technical Specifications

Component	Specification
SoC	Nvidia T239 (Custom Ampere)
CPU	8x ARM Cortex-A78C
GPU	GA10B (1536 CUDA Cores)
Graphics API	Vulkan 1.3 / NVN2
Architecture	ARMv8.2-A / ARMv9-A

Project Structure

• src/common/: Utilities, thread-safe logging, and global types.
• src/core/arm64/: CPU execution engine and state management.
• src/core/memory/: Virtual Memory Manager (VMM).
• src/core/hle/: High-Level Emulation (Kernel and OS Services).
• src/video_core/: Vulkan implementation and hardware renderer.
• externals/: Third-party dependencies (Dynarmic, SDL3, etc.).

Development Roadmap (2026)

Current Fhase:

• Phase 0: Research

Phase 1: Core Infrastructure

• Logging Framework: Implementation of a high-performance, thread-safe logging system.
• Memory Management Unit: Development of a VMM with support for 4KB and 64KB page granularity.
• Virtual File System (VFS): Initial support for parsing NCA and HFS2 container formats.
• Command Line Interface: Robust argument parsing for debugging and trace orchestration.

Phase 2: CPU Emulation (ARM64)

• State Management: Implementation of the ARM64 register set (X0-X30, SP, PC, and PSTATE).
• Instruction Decoder: Development of a disassembler for the ARMv8.2-A instruction set.
• Execution Loop: Basic Fetch-Decode-Execute cycle for architectural verification.
• JIT Integration: Design of the execution engine backend for Dynarmic integration.

Phase 3: Graphics Subsystem (Vulkan)

• Vulkan Backend: Initialization of the Vulkan 1.3 instance and physical device selection.
• Windowing Integration: Deployment of the rendering context via SDL3.
• VMA Integration: Implementation of the Vulkan Memory Allocator for emulator-to-GPU mapping.
• Shader Pipeline: Preliminary research into Ampere microcode-to-SPIR-V translation.

Phase 4: OS Kernel & Services (HLE)

• Supervisor Call Dispatcher: Interrupt handling system for HLE syscall interception.
• Service Infrastructure: Registration and IPC handling for system services (FS, HID, etc.).
• Scheduler: Basic multi-core thread scheduling and synchronization primitives.

Development Status

NeXo 2 is currently in Phase 0 (Architectural Exploration). The project does not currently possess an executable binary capable of loading commercial software. This repository is maintained strictly for educational and research purposes.

Contribution

Technical contributions regarding C++20, ARM64 assembly, and Vulkan API implementation are welcome via Pull Requests.

License

This project is distributed for educational purposes and hardware preservation research.