This new app on the App Store emulates 38 different retro game platforms

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in iOS edited May 15

RetroArch, a popular multi-platform emulator, is now officially available on iPhone and iPad, giving gamers a way to play their favorite legacy games on the go.

Smartphone displaying a pixelated platform game with a yellow character, collectible coins, hazards, and on-screen controls.
RetroArch is now officially available on iOS via the App Store



Following the App Store debut of emulators such as PPSSPP, Delta, and Gamma, Apple has finished the evaluation of another emulation app.

The highly-anticipated RetroArch emulator can be installed on any iPhone or iPod Touch running iOS 14.2 or newer and is also available on iPadOS.

Game enthusiasts will now be able to enjoy their favorite titles across various Apple devices, but will have to source them independently and legally - as RetroArch only comes bundled with the game 2048.

The prominence and overall popularity of RetroArch lie in its capability to emulate a wide variety of legacy game consoles. The application can run games created for many older consoles and platforms, via libretro cores.

What retro platform RetroArch supports on iOS and iPadOS


  • Amstrad CPC

  • Atari 2600

  • Atari 5200

  • Atari 7800

  • Atari Lynx

  • Bandai WonderSwan

  • Commodore Amiga

  • Commodore 64

  • Commodore 128

  • Commodore CBM-II

  • Commodore PET

  • Commodore Plus

  • Commodore VIC-20

  • ColecoVision

  • GCE Vectrex

  • Fairchild Channel F

  • Mattel Intellivision

  • Nintendo Entertainment System / Famicom (NES)

  • Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)

  • Nintendo Virtual Boy

  • Nintendo Game Boy Color

  • Nintendo Game Boy Advance

  • Nintendo DS

  • SNK Neo Geo

  • SNK Neo Geo CD

  • SNK Neo Geo Pocket

  • Sega Master System

  • Sega Game Gear

  • Sega Genesis / Mega Drive

  • Sega CD

  • Sega Saturn

  • Sharp X68000

  • Sony PlayStation 1

  • Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP)

  • Sinclair ZX Spectrum

  • Texas Instruments TI-83

  • Thomson MO/TO

  • Watara Supervision



The application is also open-source, ad-free and is available free of charge to all users. According to its App Store page, RetroArch supports a variety of features, including Made For iPhone (MFi) controllers, shaders, advanced latency management, and even AI translations.

RetroArch's App Store page indicates that the developer does not collect or track any user data from the application.

Previously, the app could be installed on jailbroken versions of iOS, or via enterprise distribution on standard versions of iOS. Apple has recently changed its approach to emulators, and an increasing number of applications like RetroArch are now available to everyone via the App Store.



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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    ducarmurducarmur Posts: 5member
    How do you change the language to English.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 2 of 10
    teejay2012teejay2012 Posts: 393member
    ducarmur said:
    How do you change the language to English.
    Not intuitive.

    Use the gear icon to get 'Opcions'.
    Scroll to 'Usuari'
    Select 'Llengua'
    Select 'English'
    ducarmurwatto_cobra
  • Reply 3 of 10
    AzureHawkAzureHawk Posts: 1member
    The apple versus the world battles are mostly over except things like this which try to resurface them.  There is no good reason this emulator doesn't run on iOS, win 8/10/11, and Android.
  • Reply 4 of 10
    the1maximusthe1maximus Posts: 90member
    It doesn’t mention this in the article, but there’s also an Apple TV version. 
    edited May 16 kdupuis77narwhalwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 10
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,893administrator
    AzureHawk said:
    The apple versus the world battles are mostly over except things like this which try to resurface them.  There is no good reason this emulator doesn't run on iOS, win 8/10/11, and Android.
    I'm not sure what you're talking about, because it does.
    bloggerblogducarmurwatto_cobra
  • Reply 6 of 10
    ducarmurducarmur Posts: 5member
    This emulator works well on IOS.
    Set to English and save configuration.
    Tested GOD OF WAR. NEED FOR SPEED, METAL GEAR SOLID, GALAGA, JOUST, etc.
    I dumped GAMMA and DELTA.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 10
    apple4thewinapple4thewin Posts: 99member
     TI-83 like the calculator? 😂 but what if I want to run my ti-84 CE games?
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 8 of 10
    kdupuis77kdupuis77 Posts: 120member
    Freaking awesome! Copied my folder of NES, SNES and N64 ROMs into my new iPad and up and running!
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 9 of 10
    mpantonempantone Posts: 2,101member
    AzureHawk said:
    The apple versus the world battles are mostly over except things like this which try to resurface them.  There is no good reason this emulator doesn't run on iOS, win 8/10/11, and Android.
    This is your first post here? Well, welcome to AppleInsider.

    Retroarch runs fine on Windows 10 and 11. You can find it on the Steam store.
    edited May 16 watto_cobra
  • Reply 10 of 10
    CrossPlatformFroggerCrossPlatformFrogger Posts: 7member
    This is the emulator I've been waiting on! I use this on my TV and have used it on Android for years, glad to see it on iOS. Now I can get rid of the other 2.,
    watto_cobra
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