There is a brand new frontend on the scene for emulation tinkerers and enthusiasts. EmuHub has debuted with the release of their Beta 1.0 release. This is a free open-source gaming frontend made to run in Linux, Mac, and eventually Windows. The primary focus seems to be Steam Deck functionality first, with other platform development continuing down the road.
EmuHub is the work of community developer ryandavidmercado. The idea of the project is to give users a games-first approach to the emulation frontend. Instead of a main menu selection of systems first, EmuHub aims to present players with choices that might relate to their preferences regardless of platform. “EmuHub prefers to organize games by relevant info (Recently Played, Recommended, Collections, etc) instead of by system. This makes it much easier to forget that you’re emulating, so you can focus on enjoying your collection!” This may be helpful for a lot of the folks out there who find themselves overwhelmed by the sheer choice that ROM libraries provide. The idea is that if the system knows that you like games of a certain type, it could recommend more in your library that you may enjoy.
Where Emuhub also differs itself is with automatic emulator downloads. This feature is only currently available on the Linux release, but other OS releases should contain the feature in the future. So presumably, the system should be able to identify your ROMs and download everything you need to play them. Traditionally, this process usually goes the other way. Most frontends require you to install all the various emulators for your collection first, then add games. It will be interesting to see how this approach could change the way the community approaches device setup in the future. It wouldn’t be difficult to envision this as a future helpful solution to messy ROM dumps that tend to be floating around in the community.
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- EmuHub Gravity Rush splash screen
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- EmuHub game selection screen Linux
Emulator compatibility starts with NES and goes all the way up to the PS3 and Vita era. The developer has stated that there will be continued support for new platforms on EmuHub as development proceeds. Currently listed Github information lists additional functionality such as automatic ROM scanning, system detection, and scraper support. There is also a universal hotkey for exit to the main emulation hub at any time, as has become standard in frontends.
As gaming emulation continues to grow, evolve, and increase in popularity, new options for ways to play your favorite games of yesteryear are appearing all the time. It’s an exciting time to be a fan in the community, and EmuHub looks like it could provide a great option for beginners and enthusiasts alike. Go check it out.
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