News
Everything that’s happening in the retro handheld gaming world.
The Latest
AYANEO Reveals Pocket DMG Aura Yellow
In an early morning sharing session, AYANEO revealed yet another special edition color for their Pocket DMG. This time, we’re getting Aura Yellow.
CES 2026 Recap: 8BitDo, MSI, OneXPlayer, ASUS, Genki, and Everything Else We Could Find
It’s been a long week but CES is finally over. With a lot of announcements, here’s what stood out as some of the most interesting to the Retro Handhelds team.
Tinkerer’s Treasure: dArkOS Brings Debian Linux to RK3326/3566 Devices
dArkOS CFW has arrived for a large number of RJ3326/RK3356 handhelds, bringing Debian Linux into the handheld scene.
GameSir Debuts New Driving Peripherals at CES ’26
Accessories maker GameSir has debuted two exciting new control accessories at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Ohsnap Announces Two Sleek Variants of the MCON Controller
Ohsnap announced MCON Slim and Lite at CES 2026: thinner MagSafe controllers for iPhone at $60+. Lite ships summer, Slim arrives this fall.
MiniLoong Pocket 1 Is Competing For Best Handheld Of 2023
MiniLoong Pocket 1 is a new RK3566 handheld with 1GB RAM, a 4″ 960×720 screen, single stick, and 4000mAh battery, all wrapped in a distinctive shell.
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess 4K Just Got Better!
Henriko Magnifico’s Twilight Princess 4k project has received its biggest update yet! Let’s check out the release notes and where you can download it yourself.
Lenovo Reveal SteamOS on the Legion Go 2
Lenovo announces a new version of the Legion Go 2 at CES, and it’ll be here in July, offering the same specs as the current iteration, just with SteamOS.
GameSir Pocket Taco: $35 Controller for Portrait Gaming on the Go
GameSir’s $34.99 Pocket Taco is a Game Boy-styled controller that clips to your phone’s bottom for portrait-mode retro gaming. Preorders live, ships March 15.
Retro Handhelds Weekly: AYANEO, OneXSugar Wallet, PICO-8 on iOS, NHL ’94 Updates and Much More
Catch up on the week’s biggest retro handheld headlines: Another AYANEO debacle, foldable handhelds, and upcoming price hikes, plus fresh emulator and software updates.
AYN Thor Lite up for Preorder
Do you remember the AYN Thor Lite? Seems like AYN finally does. Despite being initially listed for pre-order with the rest of the AYN Thor models, the Thor Lite had been placed as out of stock for the last few months, but that seemingly changes now as we approach the...
Gorf Gets A Lovingly Robust Port For GBA
Gorf for GBA is a fan-made, arcade-perfect port with sampled speech, all stages intact, a 24-mission challenge mode, and a gallery celebrating the cult shooter.
AYANEO Announces a Change to Their Order Process With the Mini PC AM03 Release
AYANEO has shared launch details for their upcoming Mini PC AM03, and this time they’re directing consumers to order the product from their website.
Finally, Bop-It For Game Boy!
BopIt! GB is a free GB Studio demake that turns the classic Bop-It into a Game Boy rhythm game with voice clips, rumble, and “Pass It!” local multiplayer.
Kex Is The Abstract Board Game The PC Engine Never Got
Kex is a free homebrew marble board game for PC Engine and TurboGrafx‑16, blending abstract strategy, board games, and local multiplayer into a 256 KB ROM.
Tecmo Super Bowl: NCAA 2K26 Is The Missing NES College Game
NCAA 2K26 turns Tecmo Bowl into a 32‑team college football season with updated 2025–26 rosters, smarter hacks, and multiple difficulty variants for modern play.
8BitDo Announces Controller Built for Vertical Mobile Gaming
8BitDo’s FlipPad is a portrait-mode USB-C controller for iOS and Android with Game Boy styling, and a flip-up design launching summer 2026.
Pocket8 Makes PICO-8 Playable On Your iPhone
Pocket8 brings native PICO-8 to iOS with official backing from creator zep, ditching browser lag for proper 60fps performance and responsive touch controls.
PS2 Remake of Ys V Now Playable In English
Ys V’s PS2 remake finally has a beta English translation, making this long-missed Ys entry fully playable and preserving a forgotten chapter of the series.
Emerald Dragon Finally Breaks Free Of Import Jail
Emerald Dragon’s PC Engine remake finally has an English patch, unlocking its cinematic JRPG story, tactical combat and anime presentation for modern players.
NHL’94 Finally Gets In The Fightin’ Spirit
NHL’94: Fight Edition restores brawls to the Genesis classic, a smart ROM hack that adds what was missing without breaking what made it great.
touchHLE Now Compatible With 300+ Early iOS Games
touchHLE is a clever high-level emulator bringing early iOS games back from the dead, marking a big win for mobile game preservation.
ASUS Signals 2026 Price Increases, Blames AI and the New Normal
ASUS will raise prices on select products starting Jan 5, 2026, citing AI-driven demand, memory and storage costs, and long-term supply chain pressure.
Macross M3 for Dreamcast Gets English Translation
Macross M3’s new fan translation lets Dreamcast players enjoy its post Space War 1 story and Dancing Skull cast instead of just surviving the language barrier.
AYANEO Refuses to Accept Responsibility, Puts Blame on Everyone Else for Delays
AYANEO announced nearly 20 devices in 12 months, but backers are still waiting. See the status of every 2025 reveal and why fans are fed up right now.
PortMaster Roundup: December 16 – December 31
PortMaster rounds out 2025 with ten new games, including a full-featured reimplementation of Warcraft 2 and four ready-to-run freebies!
Another Day, Another Asinine Sony AI Patent
Sony’s AI ghost patent presents as help but positions the platform as an authority deciding what content players see and how much they play themselves.
GAMEMT E3 Vigor Pre-Orders Open, Starting at Just $45
Almost three months later, the GAMEMT E3 Vigor is now available for pre-order. It’s just the latest 1:1 handheld to arrive, but priced affordably.
JarPlay Brings J2ME Emulation to the iPhone and iPad
JarPlay brings J2ME emulation to iOS, letting users run lost early-2000s mobile games via .jar files, marking another small but real win for game preservation.
AYANEO Releases Screen Details and a Kickstarter Page for the Pocket Play
AYANEO shares additional details concerning the screen that is being used in the upcoming Pocket Play, along with a landing page for the Kickstarter campaign.