RetroArch brings emulators, game engines and media playback into one configurable frontend.
Classic titles run on computers and consoles through a single graphical interface. Settings stay unified after you set them once.
Original game discs (CDs) can be loaded from RetroArch.
The Libretro project has been open source since 2010 and now backs unofficial platforms worldwide.
Latency, menus, shaders, netplay and the core updater live in one frontend.
01 / performance
RetroArch can answer input on the next frame.
When that path is working, latency should match real hardware, FPGA clones or original consoles.
Extra timing options remain available if you need to tune further.
02 / release
Install the current RetroArch build for your platform.
The public homepage still leads with 1.21.0. The verified stable listed on Download is 1.22.2.
03 / interface
Browse the collection through a set-top-box menu.
After a scan, titles group by system.
Thumbnails and animated backgrounds are part of that menu.
04 / platforms
Windows, Mac OS X and Linux are first-class hosts.
Apple and Android cover phones and tablets. Consoles include PS3, PSP, PS Vita, Wii, Wii U and more.
05 / config
The advanced settings list exposes how games run and how they are drawn.
Each option starts from a working default so you can play before you tune.
06 / input
Common pads configure on plug-in, the way a console would.
That path helps when a guest brings their own controller.
Manual remaps still exist for combos and special actions.
07 / video
Shaders are light GPU filters that can sharpen or restyle older games.
They can also recreate a CRT monitor look.
Presets stack if you want a custom chain.
08 / trophies
Unlock achievements on classic games you already own.
After a RetroAchievements sign-in, trophies and badges track like a modern console.
09 / network
Host or join a networked session.
The built-in lobby is the path back to local multiplayer over a distance.
Spectator mode lets you watch a session without playing.
10 / capture
A session can be written to a video file.
The same path can send a live stream to Twitch or YouTube.
11 / library
New programs continue to enter the RetroArch library.
Core Updater can fetch those programs as soon as they are published.
RetroArch runs across desktop, mobile and console storefronts.
Store builds can differ from the site build. Platforms sometimes require cuts so the listing can stay.
App Store
Supported
Amazon Appstore
Supported
Steam
Supported
itch.io
Supported
AppGallery
Supported
Galaxy Store
Supported
Google Play
Supported
Libretro lists more than 200 cores. The set still grows. Engines, games, media tools and emulators all sit on the same API.
OpenLara rebuilds an early Tomb Raider engine.
The core is available for Windows and Linux.
Read the core notes here.
It needs the original data files. Extra lighting sits on top of the old engine without fighting the original look.
LRPS2 is a PlayStation 2 emulator. Its Vulkan LLE renderer is ParaLLEl GS.
ParaLLEl-GS aims for software-level accuracy on the GPU. That headroom also allows enhancements that are too slow in software, including supersampled antialiasing.
Read the core notes here.
DOSBox Pure is a plug-and-play DOSBox build written for Libretro. It covers MS-DOS and Windows 9x titles, plus savestates and rewind.
Many DOS games get automatic detection and gamepad-to-keyboard maps.
Read the core notes here.
PX-68K emulates the Sharp X68000, a late-80s Japanese home computer that Capcom used as arcade devkits.
Namco, Konami and Capcom titles lived on that machine.
The core is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
RetroArch shipped several ideas that later became common. As an active open-source frontend, it still adds features each year.
1.21.0 added a PipeWire camera path, Vulkan adaptive vsync and Ozone fixes. Verified stable is now 1.22.2.
Continue readingA Libretro-side tool for cleaning ROM sets, listed with the 1.21.0 news cycle.
Continue readingRetroArch gained support for the Bliss-Box 4-Play adapter so original controllers can pass through that hardware.
Continue readingLRPS2 ships ParaLLEl GS, a Vulkan LLE renderer. Core notes live on the features page.
Continue reading1.20.0 was the official news stable published 5 January 2025, before 1.21.0.
Continue readingA CRT beam-racing simulator shader landed, the same family used for rolling-scan display work.
Continue readingThe PlayStation 2 was built around analog video, scanlines and timing, not a fixed pixel grid.
Continue reading1.19.1 stays on the official news list as the point release before 1.20.0.
Continue reading
RetroArch