Emulators on macOS

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macOS

Developer	Apple
Type	Operating systems
Release date	1984
Latest release	macOS Ventura

This page lists emulators on macOS (formerly Mac OS). It ranges from the classic series to the current versions of the OS.

Arcade

Space Invaders

Name	Version	Platform(s)	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
InvMac	68k, PPC	0.9.5a6	✗	✗	TBD

Calculators

TI-81

Mac-81

Apple

Apple I

Name	Latest Version	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
OpenEmulator	1.0.5	✓	✓	✓
MAME	0.265	✓	✓	~
Sim6502	0.1d	?	✗	✗

Apple II

Name	Platform(s)	Version	][	][+	//e	IIc	//e Enhanced	//e Platinum	IIc Plus	IIGS	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
MAME	x86	0.265	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Catakig	PPC, x86	v2	✓	✓	✓	✓	?	?	?	✗	?	✗	✗
Stop The Madness	68k, PPC	0.851r (Stable) 0.881r (More features)	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
Apple IIe Card†	68k	N/A	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗
A2Mac	?	N/A	✗	✓	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗

† Requires physical expansion card

Apple ///

Name	Platform(s)	Latest Version	///	/// Revised	/// Plus	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
MAME	x86	0.265	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Sara	?	0.5.1	✓	?	?	?	✗	✗

Nintendo

NES/Famicom

Name	Latest Version	FDS	Libretro Core	Accuracy	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
3dSen	0.9.5	✗	✗	?	✗	✓	~
ares	v138	✓	✗	?	✓	✓	✗
iNES	6.1	✓	✗	High	?	✓	✗
Gearnes	git	✓	✓	High	✓	✓	✗
higan	v110	✓	✓ (as bsnes v083)	Cycle	✓	✓	✗
ANESE	git	✗	✗	Cycle	✓	~	✗
nesemu2	git	✗	✗	Cycle	✓	✗	✗
Nesemu	git	✓	✗	High	✓	✓	✗
FakeNES GT	0.59 b3	✓	✗	Mid	✓	✗	✗
FCEUX	2.6.6	✓	✗	Mid	✓	✓	✗
FCEUmm	98.13mm (Windows) git (libretro)	✗	✓	Mid	✓	✗	✗
MAME	0.265	✓	✓	Mid	✓	✓	✗
QuickNES	0.7.0b1 (Windows) git (libretro)	?	✓	Low	✓	✗	✗
DarcNES	9b0401/9b0313	✗	✗	Low	✓	✗	✗
Nescala	git	✗	✗	?	✓	~	✗
Nin	git	✗	✗	?	✓	✗	✗
NESMac	0.3.6a 68k 0.3.6a PPC	✗	✗	Low	✗	✗	✗

Super Nintendo

Name	Version	Libretro Core	Accuracy	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
bsnes (Official)	v115	✓	Cycle	✓	✓	✓
bsnes-hd (forked bsnes)	beta 10.6	✓	Cycle	✓	✓	✓
higan	v110	✓	Cycle	✓	✓	✓
ares	v138	✗	High	✓	✓	?
Snes9x	1.62.3 git	✓	High	✗ ^{[N 1]}	✓	~
Mednafen (SNES-Faust)	1.32.1	✓	?	✓	✓	✗
nSide (forked higan)	git	✓	Cycle	✓	✗	✗
bsnes-classic (forked bsnes Qt)	git	✓	Cycle	✓	✗	✗
Mednafen (bsnes v059)	1.32.1	✓	High	✓	✓	✗
MAME	0.265	✓	Low	✓	✓	✗
Silhouette	1.0	✗	Low	✗	✗	✗
ZSNES	1.51	✗	Low	✓	✗	✗
CATSFC	1.36	✓	Low	✓	✗	✗

N64

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
ares	v138	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓

GameCube

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Dolphin	Releases	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Wii

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Dolphin	Releases	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓

Wii U

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Cemu	Releases	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓

Switch

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Ryujinx	Releases	✗	~ ^{[N 2]}	✓	✗	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓

Game Boy/Color/Advance

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	Game Link Support	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
SameBoy	0.16.3	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
SkyEmu	releases	✗	✓	✓	?	?	?	✗	✓	✓	✓
ares	v138	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓
mGBA	0.10.3	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓
KiGB	2.09	✗	✓	✓	?	✗	✗	✓	✗	~	~ ^{[N 3]}
Boycott Advance	0.4.4	✗	✓	✓	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	~	~ ^{[N 4]}
Gambatte	r571	✗	✓	✗	?	?	?	✗	✓	✗	✗ ^{[N 5]}
Gearboy	3.5.0	✗	✓	✗	?	?	?	✗	✓	~	✗ ^{[N 6]}
higan	v110	✗	✓	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✓	✗
VisualBoy Advance-M (VBA-M)	2.1.9	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓	~
GBMac	1.2.6b4	✓	✗	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗ ^{[N 7]}

DS

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
DeSmuME	Releases	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	~	✓
Medusa	Beta	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	~ ^{[N 8]}	✓	✗

3DS

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Citra	Releases	✗	✓	~ ^{[N 9]}	~ ^{[N 10]}	~ ^{[N 11]}	✗	✓	✓	~

Sega

Dreamcast

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Flycast	Releases	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓

Sony

PlayStation

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
DuckStation	git	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓
ares	v138	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓
PCSX-Redux	git	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗
Mednafen	1.32.1	✗	✓	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	~ ^{[N 12]}
PCSX-R	git	✗	✓	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗	✗
Connectix VGS	1.4.1	✓	✗	✗	?	✗	✗	✗	✗	✗ ^{[N 13]}

PlayStation 2

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
PCSX2	Nightly	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
AetherSX2	Releases	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓	✓	~ ^{[N 14]}	✓	✓
Play!	0.63	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✗

PlayStation 3

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
RPCS3	0.0.31 Alpha	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓	✓	~ ^{[N 15]}

PlayStation 4

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Obliteration	github	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗	✓	✓	✗ ^{[N 16]}

PlayStation Portable

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
PPSSPP	1.17.1	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓	✓	✓

PlayStation Vita

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Vita3K	Releases	✗	✓	✗	✗	✓	✗	✓	✓	~

Microsoft

XBox

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
Xemu	Releases	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓

Commodore

C64

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
VirtualC64	Releases	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓

Amiga

Name	Latest Version	PPC	Intel	ARM	OpenGL	MoltenVK	Metal	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
vAmiga	Releases	✗	✓	✓	✗	✗	✓	✓	✓	✓

NEC

PC-98

Name	Version	Platform(s)	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
98Mac†	?	N/A	✗	✗	?

† Emulates PC-9801VX

Tandy

TRS-80

TRS-80 Emulator for Mac OS - emulates TRS-80 Model I

Sinclair

ZX Spectrum

Mac Spectacle - emulates the 48k, 128k and +2 models

Intel CPUs

Name	Latest Version	FLOSS	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
86Box	4.1.1	✓	✓	✓
PCem	git	✓	✓	✓
DOSBox-X	2024.03.01	✓	✓	✓
DOSBox	0.74-3 SVN	✓	✓	✓
VARCem	Builds	✓	✓	✗
MAME	0.265	✓	✓	✗
QEMU	9.0.0	✓	✓	✗
Boxer	1.4.0	✓	✗	?

Note

The best emulators for MacOS can be most easily downloaded, installed and played via the OpenEmu project (https://openemu.org). The program's currently-emulated systems and the emulators used by OpenEmu are listed at https://github.com/OpenEmu/OpenEmu/wiki#supported-systems.

References

↑ Due to using a non-commercial license. Source code is still publicly available.
↑ Some games may work with an Intel Mac, but performance will be sub-par.
↑ Requires paid add-on to access extra features
↑ Requires paid add-on to access extra features
↑ 32-bit Intel only
↑ Does not launch with Rosetta2
↑ Classic Mac OS only
↑ Not open sourced yet, but will likely be opened later in development
↑ There are no official Arm releases yet, but some beta versions support Arm
↑ OpenGL support on Mac was dropped but there are plans to bring it back
↑ Vulkan/MoltenVK backends are currently in beta
↑ Mednafen is run through the command line only.
↑ Mac OS 9 only
↑ Based on PCSX2, so it is partially FLOSS. The ARM parts are currently closed source.
↑ Your mileage may vary depending on the title
↑ Very early in development. There is currently no graphics backend.

[noncomm-1] Due to using a non-commercial license. Source code is still publicly available.

[2] Some games may work with an Intel Mac, but performance will be sub-par.

[3] Requires paid add-on to access extra features

[4] Requires paid add-on to access extra features

[5] 32-bit Intel only

[6] Does not launch with Rosetta2

[7] Classic Mac OS only

[8] Not open sourced yet, but will likely be opened later in development

[9] There are no official Arm releases yet, but some beta versions support Arm

[10] OpenGL support on Mac was dropped but there are plans to bring it back

[11] Vulkan/MoltenVK backends are currently in beta

[12] Mednafen is run through the command line only.

[13] Mac OS 9 only

[14] Based on PCSX2, so it is partially FLOSS. The ARM parts are currently closed source.

[15] Your mileage may vary depending on the title

[16] Very early in development. There is currently no graphics backend.

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