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New Game Boy Cartridges You Can Buy in 2026

2026-08-29 · Buyer's guide · Updated 2026-08-29

The Game Boy stopped production in 2003. New games for it did not stop.

There is a small, healthy industry making brand new cartridges for a console that turned 37 this year. Real PCBs, real shells, printed manuals, boxes. Some are original games written today. Some are licensed classics brought back with modern conveniences added. All of them boot in the same grey brick your parents bought you.

This guide covers who is publishing, what things cost, and the one thing most people get wrong about what hardware you need.

Quick Recommendations

If you want	Start with	Price
Licensed classics with modern quality of life	ModRetro	$44.99
Original indie games with real production values	Incube8 Games	$30–$50
Cartridge only, no box, lower price	Incube8 Games Lite	Under $30
The cheapest way in	itch.io developer stores	$25–$40

First, The Hardware Question

This trips up nearly everyone, so it is worth settling before you spend anything.

New Game Boy cartridges are standard Game Boy cartridges. They are not a proprietary format tied to one modern handheld. A cartridge published in 2026 works in:

An original Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket or Game Boy Light
A Game Boy Color
A Game Boy Advance or Game Boy Advance SP
An Analogue Pocket
A ModRetro Chromatic
A Game Bub

The only real split is Game Boy versus Game Boy Color. A Game Boy Color exclusive title will not run on an original DMG, exactly as it worked in 1999. Check which one you are buying. Publishers label it clearly.

So you do not need to buy a new handheld to buy new games. If you already own working Game Boy hardware, you are done. If you want the nicest modern way to play them, our FPGA handheld guide covers that separately.

ModRetro: Licensed Classics

ModRetro is the most visible publisher in this space right now, largely because it also makes the Chromatic. Its catalog has grown to 23 cartridges.

The strongest part of the lineup is the licensed re-releases at $44.99, where an older game comes back with modern conveniences added:

Rayman and Rayman 2 Forever, the Game Boy Color platformers. Rayman 2 Forever runs in full color with an entirely new soundtrack composed from scratch
Earthworm Jim, kept in original DMG green monochrome, with auto save and level select added
Croc: 25th Anniversary Edition and Croc 2: 25th Anniversary Edition
Toki Tori Ultimate Edition, Project S-11 and Chikyu Kaiho Gun ZAS

The originals tier runs $29.99 to $44.99 and includes Buck and the Cursed Cartridge, Wicked Plague, Self Simulated, Sabrina: Zapped!, Gravitorque DX, First Contact Protocol, Hermano, Chantey, Patchy Matchy, Dragonyhm, Traumatarium Penitent, In The Dark 2, Tales of Monsterland DX and Baby T-Rex at $34.99. The Atari '90s Rewind Collection sits alone at $99.99.

Every release comes with a printed color manual, a collectible box and a character charm. You are paying for the object as well as the game, and the pricing makes that obvious.

The catch is stock. Most of the ModRetro catalog is sold out most of the time. Runs are limited and restocks are irregular. If a specific title matters to you, watch the store rather than planning a purchase.

ModRetro sells direct through its own store and through GameStop. Not an affiliate link.

We covered the two most recent additions in ModRetro's Earthworm Jim and Rayman 2 shadow drop.

Incube8 Games: The Indie Publisher

Incube8 has been publishing physical cartridges for 8 bit handhelds since 2021, and it is the label most responsible for turning Game Boy homebrew from a download into a product you can hold.

It works the way a small record label does. Developers make the game, Incube8 handles manufacturing, packaging and distribution. Notable titles in its catalog include Deadeus, a genuinely well regarded horror game built in GB Studio with 11 endings, plus Genesis, Pine Creek, The Year After, The Machine and Magipanel.

Two things make it worth knowing about:

Incube8 Games Lite is a cartridge only imprint. No box, no manual, lower price, shorter manufacturing lead time. If you want the game and do not care about the shelf presentation, this is the cheaper door.

It funds ambitious projects. Incube8 has run crowdfunding for larger titles, including a Game Boy Color tactical RPG. These are not five minute jams. Some of them are full length games.

Incube8 sells direct at incube8games.com. Not an affiliate link.

Limited Run Games and Developer Stores

Limited Run Games occasionally produces Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges as part of its wider physical release business. Availability is exactly what the name suggests. These come and go, and they are usually tied to a specific announcement window rather than being permanently stocked.

Developer stores on itch.io are the most overlooked option and often the cheapest. A lot of Game Boy homebrew developers arrange their own small cartridge runs and sell them directly from the same itch.io page that hosts the digital version. You will find these by browsing Game Boy homebrew collections on itch.io rather than by searching a storefront.

This tier is where the genuine bargains are, and also where you should expect plainer packaging and longer shipping times. You are usually buying from one person, not a company.

What To Expect For The Money

Some honesty about value, since these are not cheap.

A $44.99 cartridge is not $44.99 of game. Most of these are short. Two to five hours is normal. You are paying for a small manufacturing run, a licensed property in some cases, and a physical object made in quantities that do not benefit from scale.

The production quality is usually real. Printed manuals, proper boxes, custom shell colors. This is not a bootleg cart with a sticker on it. The better publishers take the packaging seriously, which is a large part of why people buy them.

Some of these games are genuinely good. Deadeus is not a novelty. Neither is Toki Tori. The scene has been going long enough that the tools, particularly GB Studio, are mature and the best releases stand on their own.

Resale holds up reasonably well for sold out limited runs, which softens the risk if you buy something and bounce off it.

Who Should Skip This

If you do not own Game Boy hardware and are not planning to, buying cartridges is the wrong order of operations. A software emulation handheld plays the entire Game Boy back catalog and a dozen other systems for less than three of these cartridges cost.

If you want maximum games per dollar, this is emphatically not that. This hobby is closer to buying vinyl than to buying a game.

If you are buying purely to resell, be careful. Limited runs sell out, but not everything appreciates, and the publishers restock more often than the scarcity messaging implies.

A Note On Playing Your Games

Everything in this guide is a legitimately published cartridge, sold new by the people who made or licensed the game. That is the whole appeal. We only cover playing games you own and supporting game preservation, and we do not link to or discuss ROM download sites.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are people really still making new Game Boy games?

Yes, and in real volume. ModRetro alone has 23 cartridges in its catalog, and publishers like Incube8 Games have been manufacturing new physical Game Boy releases since 2021. Development is mostly done in GB Studio and similar modern tools.

Do new Game Boy cartridges work on an original Game Boy?

Yes. They are standard cartridges, so they work in an original DMG, a Game Boy Pocket, a Game Boy Color, a Game Boy Advance, an Analogue Pocket and a ModRetro Chromatic. The one restriction is that Game Boy Color exclusive titles will not run on an original Game Boy, exactly as in 1999.

How much do new Game Boy cartridges cost?

Roughly $29.99 to $49.99 for a standard boxed release. ModRetro's licensed classics are $44.99, its smaller originals start at $29.99, and the Atari '90s Rewind Collection is $99.99. Cartridge only releases without a box are cheaper.

Where can I buy new Game Boy cartridges?

Directly from the publishers. ModRetro sells through its own store and GameStop, Incube8 Games sells at incube8games.com, Limited Run Games runs periodic releases, and many individual developers sell cartridge runs from their own itch.io pages.

Why is everything sold out?

These are limited manufacturing runs. Producing Game Boy cartridges means ordering PCBs, shells, labels, boxes and manuals in fixed quantities, so publishers make a batch, sell it, and reorder later. Restocks happen but rarely on a published schedule.

Do I need a Chromatic or an Analogue Pocket to play them?

No. Any working Game Boy family hardware plays them. A modern FPGA handheld gives you a better screen and a rechargeable battery, but it is a convenience rather than a requirement.

Are new Game Boy games any good, or are they novelties?

The best ones are real games. Deadeus is a well regarded horror title with 11 endings, and the licensed re-releases add genuinely useful things like auto save to games that never had it. Expect short runtimes, typically two to five hours.