Retro Handhelds Weekly: Anbernic RG 55G1, GameNative v1.2, and the Future of Physical Games

Welcome to the latest edition of Retro Handhelds Weekly. This week, we saw a bunch of news in the world of hardware and software. Our writing team continues to be on an absolute tear, and there’s even a surprise or two sprinkled in! So sit back, grab a cup of coffee, and catch up on what’s happened this week in the world of Retro Handhelds.

Table of Contents

Hardware & Industry News

• Anbernic Drops Full RG 55G1 Specs: Alongside their official unboxing showing off two really good colors, and a third that’s just meh, we got the full range of specs for the RG 55G1, and it’s almost like some people have been calling it for a few months now. 
• Disc to Digital: How Xbox is Hedging Against the End of Physical Media: Microsoft has finally made it official: as of August 31, Xbox Insiders can begin converting physical game discs into digital entitlements, a feature that transforms a dusty library of plastic cases into a collection of cloud-accessible licenses.
• ASUS ROG Xbox Ally X20 Preorders Open With OLED, New Cooling, and a $1,299 Price: Preorders for the ROG Xbox Ally X20 are now open, starting at $1,299 for just the handheld. Meanwhile, the entire bundle, which includes the ROG XREAL R1 Edition 20 Gaming AR Glasses and more, is priced at $2,499.

More Hardware & Industry News

Apps and Software

• GameNative Drops V1.2 Release, and as Usual There’s a Lot to it: The latest GameNative update (v1.2) has a lot of awesome updates in it to help improve the usability for anyone that wants to try x86 emulation on Android. This time around, there are a few updates for their XR build, a few fixes that’ll improve certain games, and just a few more slice of life updates that’ll make the app just a better overall experience.
• DiscWright Lets You Burn GOG Offline Installers to Physical Discs: This might be one of the coolest things we’ve seen, especially considering the recent controversy about whether you actually own the games you buy. I guess it’s time to start investing in CDs again.
• openFPGA-CartTools is a new tool that “identifies and dumps Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges over the Analogue Pocket’s own connector.”

More Software News

• 8BitDo ‘Ultimate Software Online’
• NVIDIA expands GeForce NOW with DLSS 4.5 and new Valve hardware support
• Vampire Survivors: Legacy of the Bloodmoon

Emulation Corner

Custom Core

Game of the Month

From the Writers

While there’s always a lot of news to cover and talk about, we also try to take a step back and give everyone something a bit different to enjoy. These are the more editorial-styled articles and reviews that you might have missed over the course of this week.

• Anbernic RG 55G1 Impressions: End of Summer Surplus?
• The State of 3:2 Retro Handhelds in 2026
• Honoring Optimus: My Favorite Ways to Play Transformers
• KONKR Pocket Advance First Impressions: Modern Tech in a Familiar Shell
• Anbernic RG SP Setup Guide
• GameSir G7 Pro 8K Aimlabs Edition Review: A Mouthful Name With a Top Tier Experience
• Racing Retrospectives: Forza Horizon 4
• Drawers Full of Gold: Are Today’s Handhelds Tomorrow’s Collectibles?

On the YouTubes

RH Partners

Looking for Deals?

We’re just a few days away from another AliExpress sale cropping up, so be sure to check over at handheld.deals for all of the discount codes once the sale is live. In the meantime, we’ve rounded up a few deals that might pique your interest.

Deal Highlights

• LITNXT Summer Sale: 15% off w/ code SUMMER15
• KONKR Pocket Advance at AKNES
  • 3GB/32GB: $98.10 (Save 10%)
  • 4GB/64GB: $116.10 (Save 10%)
• Miyoo Mini Flip: $69.99 (Save $10) at Amazon
• AYANEO Pocket AIR Mini (Arcade Home, 2GB/32GB): $139.99 (Save $20) at Amazon
• Miyoo Mini Plus: $71.99 (Save $8) at Amazon
• LEGO Retro Gaming Console: $15.99 (20% off) at Amazon
• Lenovo Legion Go 65W 12800 Power Bank: $63.99 (Save 20%) at Amazon
• ASUS ROG Tessen: $83.95 (Save 35%) at Amazon
• Lexar 512GB Play PRO Micro SD Express Card: $109.99 (Save $40) at Amazon
• WD_Black SN770M 1TB M.2 2230 NVMe: $199.99 (Save 40%) at Amazon

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