What are you playing on?
Picks in blue change to match. Saved on this device only.
What you need
If one of these is a no, setup will stop.
The North American disc, GC6E01 revision 0
A disc image of your own original disc, as an .iso or .gcm file. Compressed images (CISO, RVZ, GCZ) have to be converted to ISO first. European and Japanese discs aren't the one it wants, and the bonus disc isn't the game.
Set up your gameAny 64-bit Windows, Mac or Linux
Windows, Intel or Apple silicon Macs, and Linux, including the Steam Deck. The launcher builds the game for whichever one you're on.
Download tableOnly for setup
Setup downloads its build tools and the HD textures, then builds the game on your computer. After that you can play offline.
READMEAbout 4 GB free during setup
The HD textures are about 2 GB to download and 2 GB installed. The launcher also keeps up to about 2.5 GB of build cache, which Free up space clears.
HD texturesApple's Command Line Tools
Setup may ask you to install them once. Mac setup help in the launcher walks you through it.
Mac notesDownload
The install steps are on the project's own page.
Colosseum Launcher sets up the port in three steps. It downloads its setup files, you choose your disc image, and it downloads the HD textures and builds the game on your computer. Then the main screen is one Play button.
You need your own copy of the game. Nothing of the game is in the download, and your disc image never leaves your computer.
It's new. Version 0.1.0 came out on November 5, and five versions came out in its first two days, mostly fixes for crashes, wrong shop prices and widescreen edges. Everything below comes from the project's README, its changelog, the launcher's own settings screen and what players have reported on its issue tracker.
This guide doesn't repeat the install. The README has short steps for Windows, Mac and Linux. If you'd like a hand, the Ask an AI step below has a prompt that goes through it with you one step at a time.
Open the latest releaseSet up
So it doesn't look broken when it isn't.
- 1
Let the first setup finish
The first setup downloads about 2 GB of HD textures and builds the game, and it can take a while. A download that stops picks up where it was. View build log shows more detail, and closing it keeps setup running.
- 2
Open it once on a Mac For Mac
The app isn't notarized, so macOS asks you to confirm the first time it opens.
- 3
Pick Stable or Beta
Stable is the tested version. Beta has the newest launcher and game first, including online battles, the randomizer, the Pokédex tab and the native Apple silicon build, and it may break. Switch under Settings, Launcher, Launcher updates. Portable launchers stay on Stable.
- 4
Add it to Steam For Every computer but Mac
Add to Steam on the main screen puts the game in your Steam library with artwork, so it starts from Big Picture and Game Mode. Turn on Skip Launcher to go straight into the game. Steam closes for a moment while it saves.
- 5
Turn on the performance overlay
It's under Display and shows the frame rate and timing. The backtick key turns it on and off while you play. Watch it before you change anything.
- 6
Learn the fast-forward
Hold L and R (Q and E on a keyboard) to run the game at 4x. A skips a movie.
Settings to change
All of these are in the launcher's Settings. Changes apply the next time you start the game.
Graphics
Graphics preset
High. Sets everything under Quality at once. Low is for older or integrated graphics, Medium is 2x with light smoothing, High is 3x with 4x MSAA, Ultra is 4x with 8x MSAA and 16x filtering, and Steam Deck is full screen at 2x for the Deck's 16:10 screen and battery. Change any one setting and it becomes Custom.
Renderer
Vulkan. Vulkan is the port's main renderer. Choose OpenGL if the game has trouble drawing on your computer. Metal is only on Apple silicon Macs, where it's the default in Beta.
Resolution
4x. How sharp the picture is. Native (1x) is the GameCube's own, and 4x is the default. Higher costs speed and memory.
Anti-aliasing and FXAA
Per preset. MSAA smooths edges at 2x, 4x or 8x. FXAA also smooths edges MSAA misses, like leaves and fences.
Anisotropic filtering
16x. Keeps textures sharp at a slant, like the ground ahead of you.
Upscaler
Bilinear. How the picture fits the window. FSR 1 and NIS render below your screen's resolution and upscale with clean edges, for when the frame rate drops. They work on any graphics card.
HD textures
On. All 7,498 of the game's textures upscaled 4x, on by default. Texture packs made for Dolphin's custom textures also work. Put them in the folder Open custom textures folder opens, and they win over the HD textures.
HD texture loading
Before each area. An area's HD textures load with it, so they don't pop in while you play.
HD models
On. People in the field use their detailed models, so Wes has his battle model while walking around.
Shader warm-up
On. Builds an area's effects while it loads, so the first moments in it don't stutter.
Display
Screen format
As wide as the window. The 3D view widens, and menus and movies keep their shape. There's also 16:9, 16:10, ultrawide 21:9 and the original 4:3.
Battle panels at edges
On. In widescreen, the battle status panels and title portraits sit at the screen's edges.
Fullscreen
On. F11 or Alt+Enter switches while playing. Fullscreen type Borderless is the default, and Exclusive lets you pick a lower resolution on a slow computer.
Frame rate
60 fps. 60 is the default. 30 is the GameCube's own.
V-Sync
On. Stops tearing. Adaptive only tears when a frame is late, instead of stuttering.
Gameplay
Battle animations
2x speed. Speeds up or skips moves, send-outs and HP bars. Menus stay at normal speed and text stays up long enough to read. Stable offers Normal, 2x (the default), 4x or Skip. Beta has a slider from 1x to 5x, with 1.5x as its default, and a Skip battle animations switch.
Text
HD. HD draws the game's fonts sharp from the Inter typeface. Upscaled keeps their original look, enlarged.
Skip movies
Off on your first run. Goes straight past the logos and the game's movies. Worth leaving off the first time for the story scenes.
Randomizer
Off for a first run. Beta for now. Swaps your starters, Shadow Pokémon, trainers' Pokémon and gifts, chosen by a seed. It starts with your next New Game and stays with that save. Similar strength keeps early trainers beatable, and No legendaries leaves legendary and mythical Pokémon out.
Launcher
Share anonymous usage
Your call. Beta only. Every 10 minutes the launcher checks in with the online count server with its version, your system, the update channel, whether the game is running and a random ID. Turn it off under Settings, Launcher and you still see the count, without being part of it.
Controls
Change any button under Settings, Controls.
Controllers
Any SDL controller. Xbox, PlayStation, Switch and more. GameCube controllers on a USB adapter in Wii U mode are read directly, and Settings, Controls shows one when it's plugged in.
GameCube adapter on Linux
For Linux and Steam DeckAllow access. The launcher offers to add the udev rule the adapter needs.
Battle Mode
One player each. Each controller is the next free player as it's plugged in. The keyboard is player 1.
Fast-forward
L + R, or Q + E. Hold them to run the game at 4x.
Stick dead zone
10%. Raise it if Wes walks by himself, lower it for small movements to count.
Trigger click
85%. How far an analog trigger goes before it counts as L or R pressed.
Rumble strength
100%. 0% turns rumble off.
Launcher with a controller
A, B, Start. The left stick or d-pad moves, A selects, B goes back and Start opens Settings. The launcher ignores the controller while the game runs.
Saves and Dolphin
Your saves are backed up on their own.
- 1
Backups happen on their own
Dated backups are made before and after you play, and before game updates or cleanup. The Saves tab restores one, backing up your current saves first.
- 2
Carry on from Dolphin
Export your save from Dolphin as a .gci file of the North American version, then drop it on Import a Dolphin save in the Saves tab. Your current saves are backed up first.
- 3
Carry on in Dolphin
Export .gci file in the Saves tab, then import it in Dolphin's Memory Card Manager. A randomizer run keeps its team, but Dolphin plays the rest as the normal game.
If it breaks
In order. Change one thing, test, then move on.
- 1
Setup won't take your disc image
It has to be the North American disc, GC6E01 revision 0, as an .iso or .gcm. Compressed images need converting to ISO first, and the bonus disc isn't the game.
- 2
Windows says the folder is too deep For Windows
Windows can't build the game in a deeply nested folder. Move the launcher to a shorter folder and run setup again.
- 3
Setup asks for Apple's tools For Mac
Follow Mac setup help in the launcher, finish the installer that opens, then press Check again.
- 4
The AppImage won't open For Linux and Steam Deck
Allow it to run as a program in your file manager's permissions settings, then open it.
- 5
Vulkan won't start on a Steam Deck For Steam Deck
A player on SteamOS 3.9.5 reports the game only starts with OpenGL. Set Renderer to OpenGL under Graphics until that's fixed.
- 6
The window doesn't open on Linux For Linux and Steam Deck
Newer graphics drivers stopped the game opening its window, with an error that called it Super Mario Sunshine. Beta fixes it, and it'll reach Stable in the next release.
- 7
Frame drops
Pick a lower Graphics preset. If it still drops, set Fullscreen type to Exclusive under Display and choose a lower Fullscreen resolution, or try FSR 1 or NIS as the Upscaler.
- 8
The game closes with an error
The launcher opens and shows why. If it keeps happening, Rebuild game under Manage game makes a fresh copy, and your saves stay safe.
- 9
It crashes in a new area after a long session
Fixed in 0.2.0, so update first. When a game update is ready, the main button says Update & play.
- 10
Send the developer a useful report
Copy the newest crash report under Settings, Launcher, Crash reports, and the log from Activity log, then open an issue with both. Reports stay on your computer until you paste them.
Known, not fixed yet
From the project's issues and pull requests on November 7.
Vulkan on a Steam Deck
For Steam DeckOpen. Only OpenGL starts on one player's Deck.
Crash report when closing from Steam
For Linux and Steam DeckOpen. Forcing the game closed while it runs through Steam leaves a crash report on SteamOS.
Online battles
Beta. The Online tab came to Beta on November 7. Build a party of six from the Pokédex, then open a room at level 50 or 100 or join one. Both players need the same build of the game, and Stable doesn't have it yet.
120 fps
In progress. A 120 fps option is being built. For now the choices are 30 and 60.
Mods
Requested. A player asked for mod support, and the developer says it will come. Dolphin texture packs already work.
People vanishing at the sides in widescreen
Fixed in Beta. Fixed along with the target arrow sitting away from the panels, and Pokémon blinking twice as often at 60 fps.
Ask an AI
It's newer than ChatGPT and Claude, so give them this page first.
Copy page brings the whole page with it. Or view it as Markdown.
This launcher came out on November 5, 2026, after ChatGPT and Claude were trained. Ask about it cold and they'll guess, or give you Dolphin's settings instead. Copy page hands over the whole guide, so paste that first and ask it to stick to it.
Give it your exact computer up front. Your system, graphics card, processor, RAM, the launcher version and whether you're on Stable or Beta.
Ask it to ask you questions before it answers, and to change one setting at a time.
- It will stop or refuse if you ask how to make or get a disc image. This guide doesn't cover that either, and neither does the project.
- Never paste your disc image or a save into a chat. Paste the copied crash report or the end of the activity log instead.
- It may answer with Dolphin settings, like Enhancements or Graphics Backend. Those are a different program. The launcher's own names are in this guide.
- It may tell you to turn on 120 fps. That isn't released yet.
- It may say online battles, the randomizer or the Pokédex tab are missing. All three are in Beta for now.
- If it tells you to download a ready-made game or a patched build from some other site, don't. The real launcher ships no game, so a ready-made one is either pirated or malware.
Walk me through the install
Pairs this guide with the project's own README, one step at a time.
Copy the prompt below, which brings this whole guide with it, and paste it into ChatGPT or Claude. Then paste the Install and Set up your game sections of the README after it.
I own Pokémon Colosseum on GameCube and want to run Colosseum Launcher on my computer. Below is a guide to it, and after that I'll paste the Install and Set up your game sections of the project's README from github.com/chasem-dev/colosseum-launcher. Walk me through the README one step at a time, wait for me to finish each step, and use only what the README says. If a step fails, ask me for the error and the end of the activity log.
Prompts that work
Pick what you know and copy one. The AI asks for the rest, so the answer fits your computer.
Fills in every prompt below and stays on this device. Skip any you don't know, and the AI will ask and show you where to find it.
I'm playing Pokémon Colosseum through Colosseum Launcher on my computer. Before you start, ask me my graphics card, my processor, how much RAM I have and my screen resolution, one at a time. If I don't know my graphics card, my processor, how much RAM I have or my screen resolution, tell me exactly where to find it on my computer. Using only the guide below, tell me which Graphics preset and Renderer to start with, and what to change first if the frame rate drops below 60. Use the exact setting names from the guide.
Colosseum Launcher's setup fails on my computer. Before you start, ask me which of the three setup steps it stops at, the error it shows, my launcher version and whether I'm on Stable or Beta and for the end of the activity log, one at a time. Using the fixes in the guide below, give me the first one to try and wait for me to say if it worked.
Pokémon Colosseum crashes in Colosseum Launcher on my computer. Before you start, ask me my graphics card, when it happens (at start, in a new area, in battle or after a while), my Renderer and Graphics preset, my launcher version and whether I'm on Stable or Beta and for the newest crash report from Settings, Launcher, Crash reports, one at a time. If I don't know my graphics card, tell me exactly where to find it on my computer. Using the fixes in the guide below, give me the first one to try and wait for me to say if it worked.
I want to move my Pokémon Colosseum save between Dolphin and Colosseum Launcher on my computer. Before you start, ask me which way I'm moving it, which region my Dolphin game is and whether it's a randomizer run, one at a time. Using the saves section of the guide below, walk me through it one step at a time.
Before I try Colosseum Launcher, I want to know if my computer can run it. Before you start, ask me my graphics card, my processor, how much RAM I have, how much free space I have and which version of my system I'm on, one at a time. If I don't know my graphics card, my processor or how much RAM I have, tell me exactly where to find it on my computer. Check my answers against what the guide below says you need, and tell me which Graphics preset to start with. Say plainly if you aren't sure.
Questions
What people ask about it.
Is it an emulator?
No. The game is built from a fan decompilation of its code into a regular program for your computer, with the renderer from the same developer's Super Mario Sunshine PC port. Your disc is read when the game runs, and no emulator runs while you play.
Does it cost anything?
Free. The launcher is free under the MIT license. That covers nothing of Nintendo's game, so you still need your own disc.
Isn't Nintendo putting it on Switch 2?
Announced, no date. Nintendo named Pokémon Colosseum among the first GameCube games for Nintendo Switch Online on Switch 2 in April 2025. Every other game from that list has come out since, including the sequel Pokémon XD in March 2026, and Colosseum is still listed with no date.
Can I play with a friend?
Yes. Battle Mode works with a controller each on one computer. Online battles are in Beta, where you open a room and a friend joins with its code, on the same build of the game.
Does the Game Boy Advance link work?
Not mentioned. The launcher's notes don't mention trading with Ruby and Sapphire, so don't count on it.
Steam Deck?
Yes. Add to Steam puts it in Game Mode, and the Steam Deck preset fits the screen. If Vulkan won't start, use OpenGL.
Does it send anything about me?
Nothing personal. Beta checks in every 10 minutes for the online count, with versions, your system and a random ID, and you can turn that off. An online room passes your trainer name and party to the other player. Otherwise it talks to GitHub and the port's own server only for updates, setup files and HD textures, and your disc image never leaves your computer.
Who made it?
Chase Myers. Chase Myers made the launcher and the port, with engine expertise from snatcherLeo. It's an unofficial fan project, not affiliated with Nintendo, Creatures, GAME FREAK or The Pokémon Company.
Where it comes from
The projects it's built on.
pkmn-colosseum
Dougchansan's decompilation of Pokémon Colosseum, which the port is built from.
dougchansan/pkmn-colosseumSuper Mario Sunshine PC port
Chase Myers' earlier port, whose renderer this one uses.
chasem-dev/sms-pc-portColosseum Launcher
Releases for Windows, Mac and Linux, the changelog and the issue tracker.
Releases