Retro Game Emulation News

Former Twisted Metal Developer Hails RPCS3 After PS3 Emulation Breakthrough

A former Twisted Metal developer who once said PS3 emulation would "never be" possible now calls RPCS3 "Amazing work" after a major breakthrough.

Nina Kowalski•2 min read•12:31 PM

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Updates

RPCS3 adds encrypted PS3 ISO support, easing disc backup playback

RPCS3 cut a major setup step for PS3 disc dumps: encrypted ISOs now load with a matching key in the same folder.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Releases

PCSX2 modem fork brings online Armored Core multiplayer to PC

Armored Core 2AA, AC3 and Silent Line can now fight over PCSX2, with modem play tunneled through TCP/IP instead of original PS2 hardware.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Releases

GameNative 0.9.0 boosts Windows emulation on Android handhelds

GameNative 0.9.0 tightened Windows emulation on Android with Pixel 10 GPU support, DeX, and fewer setup headaches. It looks less like a novelty and more like a real portable retro-PC step forward.

Jamie Taylor2m read

News

GB Bridge Turns Game Boy Games Into Native GBA Titles

GB Bridge is trying to make Game Boy games feel like real GBA software, with custom registers, native routines, and a fantasy-console twist.

Sam Ortega2m read

Analysis

How to add RetroAchievements to RetroArch and classic emulators

RetroAchievements gives old ROMs new replay value, and RetroArch makes the setup path surprisingly direct once you know where to sign in.

Nina Kowalski5m read

Releases

Recalbox launches MAME DB, a 60,000-game arcade reference tool

Recalbox’s new MAME DB puts parent ROMs, BIOS needs, clones, and dependencies in one place for 60,000-plus arcade sets.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Analysis

RetroArch shaders make classic games look right on modern displays

Proper RetroArch shader presets can soften harsh modern pixels fast, bringing back scanlines, glow, and the CRT-era look classic games were built for.

Jamie Taylor5m read

Updates

240p Test Suite adds Monoscope pattern for CRT calibration checks

A new Monoscope pattern gives CRT setups a sharper way to check convergence and deflection, while an early Nintendo 64 preview hints at the most useful 240p Test Suite yet.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Updates

RPCS3 simplifies 2026 hardware guidance with four performance tiers

RPCS3’s new four-tier guide finally answers the buy-or-upgrade question, from old PCs that can only experiment to 4K-ready rigs built around an RTX 4070.

Sam Ortega5m read

Updates

Ubuntu flags RetroArch CVE, buffer overflow could enable code execution

Ubuntu’s RetroArch packages carry a high-priority CVE that can turn a crafted .cue file into crash or code execution on affected installs.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Analysis

Community Compiles Guide to ROM Management and Preservation Best Practices

A community-built guide gathers long-lived, practical steps for ROM management and preservation and pairs them with durable operational practices used in other public-facing maintenance programs.

Jamie Taylor5m read

Analysis

Balancing Accuracy and Performance in RetroArch Emulator Core Settings

Tune RetroArch cores to favor playability or preservation: this guide shows which core and frontend settings to flip, why they matter, and how to profile changes for RetroArch and its emulator cores.

Nina Kowalski5m read

Releases

melonDS Android v0.6.0 Adds Offline RetroAchievements in Softcore Mode

SapphireRhodonite’s melonDS-android v0.6.0 adds offline RetroAchievements for Softcore mode, using a persistent local ledger labeled "In ledger" after a one-time online initialization.

Jamie Taylor3m read

Releases

PSXSplash 2.0 Brings Unity Workflows to Authentic PS1 Homebrew Development

PSXSplash 2.0 replaced MIPS assembly with Lua scripting and one-click PS1 export, cutting the steepest part of the PS1 homebrew learning curve entirely.

Sam Ortega3m read

Releases

Community Driven XeniOS Brings Sideloaded Xbox 360 Emulation to Apple Devices

Xbox 360 games can boot on iPhone, iPad, and Mac with XeniOS, but you must sideload the IPA, enable JIT, and supply legally dumped ISOs for playable results.

Sam Ortega2m read

Analysis

Retool Shapes No-Intro and Redump DATs Into Clean, Custom ROM Sets

A full No-Intro catalog is preservation gold but handheld hell. Retool lets you carve that bloat down to a device-ready 1G1R set without sacrificing a single checksum.

Nina Kowalski7m read

Releases

Lakka 6.1: LibreELEC 12.2, Linux 6.18, RetroArch 1.22.2, CRT Pi Images

Lakka 6.1, posted Feb 21, 2026 by vudiq, moves the distro onto LibreELEC 12.2 and the Linux 6.18 LTS family while shipping RetroArch 1.22.2 and Mesa 25.1.9.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Updates

MAME raises system requirements, cuts legacy support to stay maintainable

MAME is dropping old host support, skipping April, and moving to C++20 and Qt 6 to keep preservation work moving.

Nina Kowalski2m read

Analysis

RetroArch CRT Shader Setup Guide for Accurate, Preservation-Focused Visuals

Three shader settings separate an authentic CRT look from a muddy mess; here's the calibration workflow that gets you there, repeatably, on any device.

Sam Ortega6m read

Updates

SpinalVoodoo FPGA Core Brings Cycle-Accurate 3DFX Voodoo to MiSTer

Francisco Ayala Le Brun has built a near-complete FPGA reimplementation of the 3DFX Voodoo 1, with Glide games running on silicon as if it's 1996.

Sam Ortega4m read

Updates

RPCS3 Seeks Handheld PC User Feedback, Plans Major UI Overhaul

RPCS3 is polling handheld PC users for UI feedback and has confirmed four features already in development, including native Steam game adding from within the emulator.

Nina Kowalski2m read

News

GPT-5.4 Reverse-Engineers Super Mario Bros ROM, Exposes RAM, Creates AI-Driven Emulator

Developer @skirano used GPT-5.4 in three prompts to reverse engineer the Super Mario Bros NES ROM, expose RAM events, and run AI agents inside a JavaScript emulator.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Updates

Eden Switch Emulator Team Leaves GitHub After Nintendo DMCA Takedown

GitHub disabled Eden’s GitHub presence, including the eden-emulator/Releases page, after Nintendo filed DMCA notices earlier in February; Eden filed counter‑notices and is moving distribution off GitHub.

Jamie Taylor2m read

Community

RetroArch Debate Highlights Tension Between Power and Accessibility for Casual Players

A viral post calling RetroArch "garbage" for casual players reignited the emulation community's oldest argument: does raw power matter if newcomers can't get past the setup screen?

Sam Ortega3m read

Releases

New Sega Saturn Emulator Targets HD Resolutions and 60 FPS on Modern Hardware

A new Saturn emulator called Ymir is turning heads with locked 60fps on Virtua Fighter 2 and Sega Rally, outpacing the Beetle Saturn core by a significant margin.

Sam Ortega3m read

Releases

Provenance 3.3.0 Brings iCloud Syncing, Redesigned tvOS UI, and Unified Shaders

Provenance 3.3.0 landed with iCloud syncing via CloudKit, syncing your ROMs, saves, BIOS, and artwork across every Apple device you own.

Nina Kowalski2m read

News

Xbox One Cracked After 13 Years, Opening Doors for Game Preservation

Markus Gaasedelen cracked the original Xbox One's boot ROM at RE//verse 2026 with an unpatchable voltage glitch, finally breaking 13 years of ironclad console security.

Sam Ortega2m read

Releases

Manic EMU v1.8.3 Adds Dreamcast, RetroAchievements, iCloud Sync on iOS 16+

Manic EMU v1.8.3 brings Dreamcast emulation and RetroAchievements to iOS 16+, plus shaders, Game Boy Camera support via mGBA, iCloud sync, fast-forward and controller support.

Jamie Taylor3m read

Updates

PS5 NES Emulator Gains Native DualSense Support Without Full Jailbreak

EGYDEUTEAM NES EMU v0.2B plays Contra, Castlevania, and TMNT on PS5 firmware 13.00 with native DualSense support, no full jailbreak required.

Sam Ortega2m read