Re:Haven, back to every recomp
Box art for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
XBOXGCXbox / GameCube · 2003 · EA Redwood Shores · Action

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

2 projects bring The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to PC. Here's how they compare, and which one to start with.

A
Recommended

Athelas by Shagg88

Rated A (Complete), above rotk-native at B. It has widescreen, high frame rates, keyboard and mouse controls and multiplayer, and runs on Windows.

Repository ↗

Every project, side by side

Recommended

Athelas

Shagg88AI

A
CompletePlayable start to finish in a stable release. Minor issues at most.
Console
XBOX Xbox
Stage
Released
Runs on
Windows
Languages
English
Features
WidescreenHigh frame rateKeyboard & mouseMultiplayerLauncher
Latest release
1.5.1 Oct 23, 2026
Last activity
Active Oct 23, 2026
GitHub stars
112 +47 this week
Toolchain
XboxXBE-Recomp
About this project

A static recompilation of the original Xbox game's code for Windows with Xbox XBE Recomp, part of the Athelas launcher alongside The Two Towers' Xbox port and ROTK Fix for the PC version. It adds widescreen and ultrawide, 30 to 240 fps with the slowdowns and vanishing enemies at high frame rates fixed, anti-aliasing, field of view and draw distance settings, sharper text and menus (from the PC version's fonts, if you have it), keyboard and mouse, and two-player co-op on one PC.

What you need

Your own US Xbox release, as an .iso or the extracted files; Windows 10 or 11 64-bit and a Direct3D 12 graphics card.

rotk-native

kenny08gt

B
PlayablePlayable builds with known bugs, missing features or a rough setup.
Console
GC GameCube
Stage
Playable beta
Runs on
macOS
Languages
English
Features
Keyboard
Latest release
No release yet
Last activity
Active Oct 16, 2026
GitHub stars
0
Toolchain
DolRecomp
About this project

A native Apple silicon Mac port: DolRecomp for the code and Aurora drawing through Metal. Menus, movies and the first levels run at or near 60 fps. Build from source.

What you need

Your own Return of the King disc image (GameCube, USA, GKLE69) and an Apple silicon Mac.

Ratings and comments

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