Briefing · Questions and answers
FAQ
The short answers. If yours is not here, ask on our Discord.
The basics
What is Battlefield 1943 Reborn?
Battlefield 1943, the 2009 Xbox 360 game by DICE, running natively on Windows, with its online multiplayer brought back on servers that anyone can run. The game never came out on PC.
Is it free?
Yes. Reborn is a free fan project, and hosting your own server is free too. You do need your own copy of the game.
Do I need the original game?
Yes. Reborn contains no game files. It runs on the files from your own Xbox 360 copy of Battlefield 1943, which you point it to once. Nothing of the game is downloaded or shared. How that works
Does the PlayStation 3 version of the game work?
No. Reborn runs on the Xbox 360 version, the Xbox Live Arcade game.
Is this made by Electronic Arts or DICE?
No. It is a fan project by TekRantGaming. It is not made, endorsed or supported by Electronic Arts or DICE.
Who makes it?
TekRantGaming, with players who test it and report problems. Agentic AI tools were used to assist in its development. See the credits.
What does "early playtest" mean?
The build is an alpha. We opened the servers early because we want your feedback. Expect bugs, crashes and big changes between builds, and stats that reset.
Running it
What do I need to run it?
Windows 10 or 11, 64 bit, and a graphics card with Vulkan. NVIDIA GTX 10 series, AMD RX 5000 series, Intel Arc or newer is recommended. And your own copy of Battlefield 1943 for Xbox 360.
Windows says rexruntime.dll is not designed to run on Windows. Is the download broken?
No. The builds are not code signed yet, and Windows 11's Smart App Control has not cleared this build's files, so it can refuse to start the game with that message (Bad Image, 0xc0e90002). Ask on our Discord if this stops you.
Does it run on Linux, Steam Deck or Mac?
Windows only for now.
Does it support ultrawide screens or HDR?
Not yet. The game is 16:9, so a wider screen shows it letterboxed or stretched, and there is no HDR.
Can I play with a controller?
Yes. Controllers work beside the keyboard and mouse, and the button prompts can show Xbox or PlayStation buttons. Buttons can be remapped.
Why do my weapon and hands look less smooth than the rest?
The game runs its world 30 times a second, as on the console. Reborn turns the camera on every frame and moves soldiers and vehicles smoothly between the game's updates, but the first person weapon and hands still move 30 times a second for now.
Flying a plane with the mouse is very hard. Is that me?
No. It is a known issue, and a new mouse flying mode is being worked on. Controllers fly as on the Xbox 360.
Playing online
How does online play work if the original servers are gone?
Reborn has its own main backend, which every player logs in to and which lists every server. The official servers are run by TRG Studios, and anyone can add their own.
How many players, and which maps?
Up to 24 players a server, on all four maps: Wake Island, Guadalcanal and Iwo Jima in Conquest, and Coral Sea in Air Superiority.
What are Modern and Classic servers?
Two playstyles. Classic is the game exactly as it played on the Xbox 360 in 2009. Modern has aiming and movement that feel like today's shooters. Each server plays one or the other, so nobody has an edge, and the server list says which. Both use all of Reborn's new graphics.
Can I play with people on Xbox 360?
No. The original servers are gone, and Reborn's servers are for Reborn players on PC.
Can I play offline or against bots?
Reborn is an online game: it signs in to our backend when it starts, and matches are against other players. There are no bots. The game's own tutorial is in Help.
Are my stats saved?
Not for good, yet. During the playtest, stats, awards and leaderboards are kept only while the official backend runs, and they reset when it restarts.
How do I play with just my friends?
Create Private Match hosts a match on your own PC, and your friends join it by Direct connect in the server browser. More about private matches
How do I host my own server?
Download the server package, install the game from your own package, add your servers and press Start all. It is free, it needs Python 3.12, and your servers show in everyone's server browser under Community. The full guide
The project
How does it work? Is it an emulator?
No. The Xbox 360 program is translated ahead of time into native 64 bit Windows code, a method called static recompilation, so the game's own code runs natively. A new Vulkan renderer draws the game's graphics, and Reborn's own backend answers where the game used to talk to its original servers.
What does the game send over the internet?
Playing online, the backend sees the name you chose and your IP address, as any game server does. Share graphics data, which is on by default in Settings, Gameplay, Sharing, sends the graphics pipelines your game builds to our server so the next update has them ready and everyone gets less stutter. That is render settings and shader numbers: no game files, no name, nothing about you. Your settings, logs and crash reports stay on your PC.
How do I report a bug?
In the playtest's bug reports channel on our Discord. Say what you did, what you saw and what you expected, and attach the file bf1943.log from the folder user next to the game. Crash reports are in the crashes folder beside it.
Is the source code public?
The development repository is private for now. The public repository holds the releases, the changelog and the guides.
How do I update to a new build?
Download the new zip from the latest release and copy its files over your current folder. Your game and user folders stay.
Where is the list of changes?
In the changelog on GitHub, and in each release's notes.