Explainers

PS3 static recompilation produced its first playable games in October 2026. Here is every project, what each one actually does, why none of them has a download, and why no handheld runs them.

Meta's VR Glasses ship in Spring 2027 with a DisplayPort input, a microSD slot, and the Quest software library. Here are the three ways that could matter for retro emulation, and the one that actually changes something.

Minecraft inside Skyrim. Doom on a working virtual PC inside Minecraft. Morrowind inside Elden Ring. These clips all look like the same trick and they are not. There are four completely different ways to do it, and knowing which one you are looking at tells you whether it can possibly be real.

Two real Switch 2 emulator projects exist. Neither can run a commercial game, one has not shipped a release in a year, and the other has stopped work on the emulator entirely. Here is the honest state of it.

Minecraft in Elden Ring. Skate in Modern Warfare 2. Minecraft in Cyberpunk, Skyrim and GTA 5. Two of those you can download today, one has no download, and two have no source at all. Here is the checklist we use, including the row it got wrong.

Six games were reported fully decompiled in one stretch of 2026. Five are finished or within a rounding error of it, none gives you a download today, and the difference between those two facts is the whole story.

Minecraft inside Skyrim. Morrowind inside Elden Ring. Doom inside Minecraft on a working virtual PC. A running list of games rebuilt inside other games, which ones you can download, and the one that runs on a $50 handheld.

Spider-Man: Edge of Time now has a finished 1.0 PC port with Windows, Linux and macOS builds, which changes the answer we gave two weeks ago. Here is what shipped, how it compares to the other Edge of Time project, and what it means for a Steam Deck.

One DK64 port advertises zero AI code. The first Wii recomp discloses that it used AI. A third group is getting quietly delisted from community trackers. The split is now the most useful quality signal you have.

FEX, Box64, Proton, DXVK, DXMT, Rosetta, MoltenVK. Every guide to running PC games on ARM throws these names at you at once. Here is what each one does, why they stack, and why every extra layer costs you frames.

We said Blue Dragon had an active ReXGlue recompilation. We went back to check and found no public project at all. Here is what we actually searched, and why this game is still the obvious candidate.

Lost Odyssey is being recompiled into a native PC port through ReXGlue. Here is what the project is, what state it is in, and why this JRPG suits a handheld better than almost anything else on the list.

Every game with a native recompiled PC port, across N64, Xbox 360 and PS1, with the state of each project and which handhelds run them. The complete cross platform list.

Now that neural rendering runs inside emulators, the question is whether it should. We think the answer is no, and not mainly for the reasons you would expect.

DLSS 5 only works by hooking a game's own DLSS calls. So how is it running in Skyrim, Batman and a PS2 emulator? The answer is a clever fake, and it explains why the results look unstable.

Every PC handheld on sale runs AMD or Intel graphics, which means DLSS is off the table. Here is what FSR and XeSS actually do for you, and which settings are worth changing.

Brand new Game Boy and NES games keep appearing, which raises an obvious question. Who is still writing code for 1989 hardware, and how? The answer is a set of free tools that changed everything.

CRT shaders reproduce what a game was built to look like. Neural rendering invents detail that was never there. Both make old games look better, and they are not the same thing at all.

RPCS3 has had trophy support since 2017 and people still ask for it. Here is where to find your trophies, why they cannot reach your PSN profile, and what RPCN actually covers.

Static recompilation reached the PlayStation 1. PSXRecomp turns a PS1 game into a native binary or a WebAssembly build, and Pepsiman Recompiled is the proof. Here is how it works and why it matters for handhelds.

Fake emulator repos and a real supply chain attack on Cemu made 2026 a bad year for careless downloads. Here is how to verify what you install.

Every N64 game with a native recompiled or decompiled PC port, what state each is in, and which handhelds run them. Plus the new browser playable recomps.

SteamOS 3.8 opened up to third-party handhelds in June 2026. Here is an honest comparison of SteamOS, Bazzite, and Windows for emulation and PC gaming.

Valve's Steam Frame is a VR headset, but it runs SteamOS with Proton, FEX-Emu, and an Android layer. Here is what that means for playing the retro games you already own.

ES-DE, Daijishō, iiSU, Beacon, or the frontend built into your firmware? How to pick the right emulation frontend for your handheld in 2026.

Your Android handheld can play modern AAA games today, by streaming them. Game Pass, GeForce Now, and Moonlight on retro handhelds, and when streaming beats emulating.

Every Xbox 360 game with a native recompiled PC port so far, what state each project is in, and which handhelds run them well. Updated September 2026.

Intel’s Arc G-Series chips are its real push into Windows handhelds. Here is what the G3 changes for emulation and how it stacks up against AMD.

ReXGlue turns Xbox 360 games into native PC ports through static recompilation. Here is what that means, why it can beat emulation, and what it means for handhelds.

Xbox 360 and PS3 emulation are the two hardest mainstream targets on a handheld. Here is which one is actually harder, why, and what hardware you need for each.

Evercade sells legal cartridges with zero setup. Firmware handhelds play your own files. Here is how they compare on legality, library, and value.

Evercade is a modern retro console built around real cartridges of licensed classics. Here is how it works, what makes it different, and who it is for.

Decompilation and recompilation both turn classic games into real PC applications that run better than emulation, but they work in completely different ways. Here is the difference, and why it matters for your handheld.

The difference between FPGA and software emulation for retro gaming. How they work, when each matters, and which is right for your buying decision.

Linux vs Android retro gaming handhelds explained. Setup complexity, emulation performance, custom firmware options, and which OS fits your needs.

Everything you need to know about the legal landscape of ROM emulation — written clearly, without fearmongering.