This article is reprinted from: IT HomeAuthor: Yuanyang
RISC-V, as an open-source instruction set architecture (ISA), is gradually becoming an important foundation for designing custom processors, providing an alternative to traditional proprietary architectures such as x86 and ARM. With its openness, versatility, and lower cost, RISC-V has been widely applied in various fields of the tech industry, from embedded devices and microcontrollers to solid-state drive controllers. Additionally, the application of RISC-V in the simulation field is also gaining attention.
In this context, felix86, as a Linux user-space emulator, is designed specifically to run x86 and x86-64 programs on RISC-V processors. IT Home has noted that since its debut in March of this year, felix86 has attracted attention for its ability to run large games and even the Linux Steam client on RISC-V systems. In a recent blog post about the newly released version 25.07, the developers showcased the capability of running several AAA video games through felix86, including The Witcher 2, The Witcher 3, and Far Cry.
However, the ability to launch games does not mean they can run in a playable state. Currently, the felix86 emulator still faces performance issues. Meanwhile, the raw performance of current RISC-V processors is not high, and the number of processing cores available to end users remains extremely limited. These issues pose challenges to the practical application of the RISC-V architecture in the gaming field.