DuckStation on Android isn’t dead yet, but it’s looking a lot like abandonware in slow motion. Time Extension reports that the wildly popular PS1 emulator hasn’t seen an Android update since May 1st, 2025, and recent comments from developer Stenzek suggest he’s basically done with that platform.
The key quote doing the rounds: when asked about future Android updates, Stenzek replied, “No, because I don’t have the time and Android users told me they don’t want updates,” later adding that he doesn’t have the energy to do something he’ll “mostly get negativity for.” That tracks with what Android emulation folks have seen for a while now: GitHub builds shipping with a blunt “no support is provided for the Android app” note, and Discord mods shutting down Android troubleshooting before it starts.
So DuckStation on the Play Store still exists, still runs, and is still very good at what it does; it’s just frozen in time while Android marches on. That means no fixes for bugs, no workarounds for new Android API quirks, and a decent chance that future OS updates or GPU drivers eventually break something important. Anyone who lived through AetherSX2’s burnout‑and‑backlash saga is getting unpleasant déjà vu here.
For handheld users, especially those that are RetroArch-averse, DuckStation has been the go‑to PS1 app in most Android setup guides, including our own. Alternatives exist: SwanStation in RetroArch, Beetle PSX, a couple of lesser standalone options, but none hit the same sweet spot of speed, polish, and convenience that made DuckStation the default recommendation.
In the short term, the smart move is to archive a known‑good APK, snapshot your config, and start testing replacements in parallel. Long term, it’s yet another reminder that hanging your entire library on a single overworked volunteer dev is a great way to get burned.
Source: Time Extension
7 Comments
Паршивые новости… Надеюсь, разработчик вернется в строй… Или появиться альтернативный проект на базе duckstation…
Lousy reason. Just say it straight that you don’t want to work on it anymore. I have never seen someone say they “don’t want updates” for an emulator. That’s quite literally the antithesis of improvement for emulation. “Mostly get negativity for” – boohoo, everyone in every field gets negativity from customers. Don’t be a coward, if you don’t want to do it use a better reason.
Exactly.
You said it perfectly.
The dev is notoriously petty. They intentionally tried to break the Linux build rather than just abandon it. They also tried to change the license on the project code so no-one could fork it to continue supporting other platforms.
Extremely talented engineer, but totally devoid of people skills.
How many updates does it need? PSX emulation is practically perfect at this point. Unless Android gets an update that stops it from running, what is the point? You don’t need a new update every five minutes, bro.
This developer seems annoying
If the dev has given up supporting future Android versions, he should just allow forks to keep it working in the future.