The 3SX project (also known as “The Third of the Third”) is an open-source development effort hosted on GitHub by the crowded-street organization. It is a native port of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike designed for modern platforms, including Windows, macOS, and Linux.+1
Technical Origin
Unlike most ways to play the game on PC (which typically rely on emulators like MAME/FBNeo), 3SX is a native port. It is built upon the 3s-decomp project, a separate repository by the same group dedicated to the full reverse-engineering and decompilation of the original game code.
- Source Material: The project specifically targets the PlayStation 2 version of Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike (found in the Street Fighter Anniversary Collection).
- Methodology: The developers have reverse-engineered the PS2 binaries to C code. This allows the game to run as a native executable on modern hardware, rather than being “translated” in real-time by an emulator.
Legal and Practical Requirements
To maintain legal compliance and functionality, the project does not distribute Capcom’s original assets.
- Asset Requirement: Users must provide an official copy of the game (PS2 version) to extract the necessary game data.
- License: The project is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 (AGPL-3.0), which requires that any modified versions of the source code also be made public.
Key Features and Goals
Because the game is running natively, the developers can implement features that were difficult or impossible with emulation:
- Cross-Platform Support: Native builds for Windows (via MinGW/Clang), macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel), and Linux.
- Modern Enhancements: The project aims to improve upon the original by adding a more robust training mode, fixing legacy bugs, and potentially introducing stages and themes from earlier versions like 2nd Impact.
- Netcode: The project utilizes GekkoNet, a networking library, to facilitate online play.
- Preservation: By recreating the source code, the project ensures the game remains playable on future hardware architectures (e.g., ARM-based PCs) without relying on the performance overhead of emulation.
Project Status (as of Early 2026)
- Decompilation Progress: According to the repository’s
3s-decompdocumentation, the game logic is largely decompiled. However, certain middleware components (like CRI sound functions) have required additional work to match perfectly. - Contributor Activity: The project is primarily maintained by a developer known as apstygo. It remains active, with recent commits focusing on platform compatibility and rendering fixes (such as preventing “double drawing” issues).+1
- Availability: While there are no formal “stable releases” listed on GitHub, the project is open for users to build from source using tools like CMake.
5. Repository Links
For further technical exploration, the project is split into two primary areas:
- 3SX Repository: The front-end port for modern platforms.
- 3s-decomp Repository: The back-end reverse-engineering of the PS2 code.
- Documentation: Detailed building instructions for Windows, macOS, and Linux can be found in the
/docsfolder of the 3SX repository.