# Skate 3 versions: browser fan game, native ports or Rust rewrite?

Canonical: https://playable.wtf/guides/skate-browser-vs-native-ports/

Written: 2026-10-16 · Revised: 2026-10-17

For an owned Xbox 360 disc image, Skate3Recomp offers the clearest desktop installer. The browser fan game needs already converted data; phone ports and the Rust rewrite have their own setup.

## Compare your options

If you own the Xbox 360 game and want the clearest desktop installation path, start with [Skate3Recomp](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-native/): its release includes a disc-image installer, and Windows is the maintainer’s most-tested platform. Choose the [aaddpp browser fan game](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-browser/) only when you already have data converted for that project. A browser tab does not remove its missing conversion step.

For a phone, use the separate Android or iOS instructions below. For experimenting with tricks, maps and a different implementation of skating, consider [SK8-ENGINE’s Rust rewrite](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-rust-engine/). Original assets can make these projects look related, but they do not establish identical physics, career content or controls.

Different routes, different preparation

| Project | Where it runs | Before you start |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [aaddpp fan game](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-browser/) | Browser | Your own data converted for this project; the public launcher has no disc-conversion walkthrough |
| [Skate3Recomp](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-native/) | Windows, Linux, macOS | Install a release and import your own Xbox 360 disc data |
| [Skate 3 Android](https://playable.wtf/games/andrewnakas-skate3-android/) | Native Android app | Your own Xbox 360 image and Title Update 3 |
| [Skate 3 iOS](https://playable.wtf/games/andrewnakas-skate3-ios-setup/) | Signed iPhone app | Extracted disc files, Title Update 3, and sideloading or a Mac build |
| [Skate 3 Rust Engine](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-rust-engine/) | Experimental Windows package | Your own Xbox 360 ISO or extracted files; a gamepad; first-run asset conversion |

For the original game’s systems, a native recompilation is the more relevant starting point; it translates the game’s code. The Rust engine rebuilds systems and explicitly has unfinished gameplay parity.

## The browser fan game

The aaddpp host identifies itself as a fan game and says it streams data from a converted copy you own. It warns that the first load is slow. Do not choose it expecting the full retail career. The practical appeal is entering the fan game from a browser once its specific data preparation is already solved. [Read the host’s current start screen ↗](https://skate.aaddpp.lol/)

If you already have this project’s converted data, the [creator’s Game Server instructions](https://skate.aaddpp.lol/frontend.js?v=335e6b4e7f6b) describe this connection sequence:

1. Run `SERVE.bat` on the computer holding your converted copy and open the address it prints.
2. To point the launcher at that data, open **ONLINE → Game Server** and enter the server address. The panel also accepts a direct URL to a compatible hosted game-data ZIP.
3. Choose **Use this server**, then **Re-check** to refresh the data status.

These steps connect prepared data; they do not convert a disc image. The public launcher does not provide the converter or a disc-to-data walkthrough. If you only have an ISO, you still need the conversion tools and instructions for this exact project. A recipe or data pack for another Skate port is not a documented substitute.

## Native desktop setup

Skate3Recomp’s creator provides Windows, Linux and macOS releases. The project uses your own Xbox 360 game files; they are not included in its download. Its new renderer is still described as early, with visual issues, and the macOS ARM build is experimental.

1. Open the [Skate3Recomp listing](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-native/) and follow its download link.
2. Choose the release for your operating system and extract it to a folder you control.
3. Run the app, choose **Select ISO**, wait for extraction, then select **Start Game**.

Current release builds also require Title Update 3; complete the app’s title-update setup before booting the game. The [README](https://github.com/mchughalex/skate3recomp#readme) describes the required update and platform steps. Use the release installer unless you specifically want to compile the project.

For a broken scene, **F5** switches native and emulated rendering. This is a useful fallback for the listed skater-customization, Hall of Meat and park-editor visual problems. On Linux, the maintainer also suggests the Windows build through Proton when that suits the hardware better; macOS ARM remains experimental.

## Android and iPhone

### Android

The separate [Android port](https://playable.wtf/games/andrewnakas-skate3-android/) packages the native recompilation. Its creator asks for your Xbox 360 disc image and Title Update 3. In the app’s disc-image installer, select the image and then the update; extraction uses about 6 GB. That is an Android installation workflow, not a mobile-browser mode. [Android setup ↗](https://github.com/andrewnakas/skate3-android#getting-the-game-onto-the-phone)

### iPhone

The [iOS project](https://playable.wtf/games/andrewnakas-skate3-ios-setup/) documents an unsigned IPA for sideloading, or a build on your own Mac. The app needs signing with your Apple ID. A prebuilt IPA avoids compiling the engine, but still needs signing and your own game files. Neither route supplies the game.

For the documented sideloaded setup, the app’s `game` folder needs `default.xex` and the `data/` directory from your extracted disc, about 6 GB. Title Update 3 is also required: copy the separate update package as instructed and select it in the app. The iOS installer cannot fetch it for you. Building yourself adds the Mac and full Xcode toolchain. [iOS files and installation ↗](https://github.com/andrewnakas/skate3-ios-setup#supplying-the-game)

Android’s on-device image picker is the shorter documented phone data workflow. iOS involves extracted-file transfer and signing. Choose around the device you actually have; these native apps do not prove that the browser fan game has equivalent phone support.

## Saves and the Rust alternative

Skate3Recomp’s Windows saves default to `%APPDATA%\skate3`. A `saves` folder created beside the executable before launch switches saved games to that location; existing saves are not moved automatically. An empty `portable.txt` beside the executable makes all user data portable. Copy your existing files before switching modes.

The macOS guide keeps game files, saves and settings beside the app. Keep that folder together when moving or backing it up. These paths belong to Skate3Recomp; the browser fan game and the Rust engine have separate storage and setup.

[SK8-ENGINE’s Rust project](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-3-rust-engine/) is another reimplementation, with unfinished original-game parity. Its current Windows instructions accept an owned Xbox 360 ISO or `default.xex` beside the extracted `data` folder, then prepare assets for gamepad play. This is not the same installer or save workflow as Skate3Recomp.

For Skate3Recomp input, Xbox controls are preferred; its SDL backend supports additional controller types, and keyboard input can be enabled in settings. Escape or RB + Start opens settings. The Rust engine also expects a compatible gamepad, so it is an alternative for experimenting with a rewrite, rather than a shortcut around controller setup.

[Skate × Rust](https://playable.wtf/games/skate-rust-browser/) is a different browser mashup with skating and gun modes, not the Rust-language Skate 3 engine. [SkateGM](https://playable.wtf/games/the-schwilliam-skategm/) is a Garry’s Mod project. Keep their game requirements and progression separate from a Skate 3 installation. The [project-label guide](https://playable.wtf/guides/ports-decompilations-emulators-explained/) explains the underlying distinctions.

## Project reading

- [aaddpp · browser fan game](https://skate.aaddpp.lol/)
- [Skate3Recomp · installation and limitations](https://github.com/mchughalex/skate3recomp#readme)
- [Skate 3 Android · game data setup](https://github.com/andrewnakas/skate3-android#getting-the-game-onto-the-phone)
- [Skate 3 iOS · supplying the game](https://github.com/andrewnakas/skate3-ios-setup#supplying-the-game)
- [SK8-ENGINE · current Rust setup](https://github.com/SK8-ENGINE/skate-3-rust-engine#readme)
- [aaddpp · prepared-data connection instructions](https://skate.aaddpp.lol/frontend.js?v=335e6b4e7f6b)
- [SkateGM · Garry’s Mod requirements](https://github.com/The-Schwilliam/SkateGM)