Summary
This video explains how AI is transforming the decompilation of software, and why it matters well beyond video games. The presenter first covers what decompiling means: working backward from compiled machine code to human-readable code that behaves identically, even though comments, names, and structure are lost along the way.
Historically this took teams of humans years, as with the long-running Super Smash Bros. Melee effort. The video argues that AI suits the job because it is code-heavy and offers a verifiable loop: guess, check against the original, and repeat. Work can also be split across many parallel agents. One example is Chris Lewis’s Snowboard Kids decompilation, which once took nearly two years and was reproduced in 84 days with AI.
The presenter describes the game mashups this enables, such as Super Mario in Elden Ring and Minecraft inside GTA, and outlines several approaches, from pass-through mods to transplanting mechanics to fully rebuilding a game’s rules. He also shares his own project recreating Super Mario World for a Mod Retro handheld.
The discussion then turns to a bigger question: if AI can recreate a game by studying it, what stops it from doing the same with commercial software like Photoshop or Excel? The video considers what that could mean for the software industry.
📺 Source: Matthew Berman · Published October 10, 2026
🏷️ Format: Opinion Editorial
