Emulators on macOS

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macOS
1998 apple logo.png
Developer Apple
Type Operating systems
Release date 1984
Latest release macOS Ventura
This page is about emulators that run on macOS.
For software that emulates macOS (previously Mac OS X) on other hardware, see Macintosh line.

The Mac has changed considerably over the years, both in terms of hardware and software. It is important to understand these changes so you can choose the best emulators for your Mac.

CPU Architecture:

The Mac has gone through four major cpu architecture changes: Motorola 68k, IBM PowerPC (PPC), Intel x86/x64 and most recently Apple Silicon (Arm64). There have also been minor architectural changes such as moving from Intel's 32-bit x86 to 64-bit x64. Each time there was a hardware transition, Apple provided ways to continue to support older software on the new systems. Rosetta was a software emulation layer that helped PPC applications to run on x86/x64 Macs, but was dropped in macOS 10.6 Snow Leopard. Rosetta 2 currently facilitates x64 software to run on Arm Macs. While Rosetta performs very respectably for most software, it adds extra overhead which can reduce performance on demanding games and emulators.

Operating System:

The Mac has had two main operating systems over its history. The original System/Mac OS, which is now referred to as “Classic" macOS, was closed-source and proprietary. It had 9 major versions. However it had severe technical limitations, so Apple developed macOS which is Unix-based. The first several releases up to 10.4 Tiger contained support for Classic applications, but this was later dropped. Another major event for compatibility was the dropping of support for 32-bit x86 software in macOS 10.15 Catalina.

Graphical Backend:

Another aspect to consider is the graphical backend of the emulator. For many years OpenGL was the main cross-platform standard for developing graphical software. However in recent times this has changed. More modern backends such as Vulkan and Metal are superseding it. OpenGL on macOS has now been marked as deprecated, meaning it is stuck on the older OGL 4.1. It doesn't receive any support or bug fixes and will someday be removed from macOS completely. Apple recommends for developers to create native Metal backends for their apps.

One issue with this is that a lot of emulators are cross platform, and Metal is for Macs and other Apple products only. The Vulkan backend for Windows and Linux is similar to Metal, but does not have support on macOS. So many emulators will develop a Vulkan backend and use the MoltenVK translation layer, which will take Vulkan instructions and convert them into their respective Metal equivalent. However not every Vulkan instruction has a Metal version, so either workarounds have to be designed, or some features cannot be supported at all.

Using one of these backends is not mandatory, of course. Some emulators may use a different backend or handle graphics themselves.

Choosing an Emulator:

All this means that to find an emulator that works well for your Mac you should understand its specs first. Choose an emulator that supports your CPU architecture natively where possible. The emulators shown here will indicate the processor architecture it supports.

Generally you should choose an emulator that supports Metal where available if you are on a modern Mac. MoltenVK should be more performant than OpenGL, although there may be compatibility issues. OpenGL may work, but some emulators need to use a version newer than OGL 4.1 that macOS doesn't support. In cases like this the emulator will be marked as not having OpenGL support.

This list shows the latest versions of the emulator software. If you have an older CPU and the latest version does not support it, some emulators will keep archives of older versions that might. Check out their website.

Lastly, remember that emulators can have different levels of completion or compatibility. If a game you are trying to run does not work properly with a recommended emulator, try a different one.

Frontends[edit]

OpenEmu[edit]

Many emulators for macOS can be played very conveniently with OpenEmu which provides an iTunes-like interface for your game collection and uses various different emulator cores to play them, including command-line only emulators such as MAME and Mednafen. The systems emulated are listed here. In keeping with their goal of simplicity, some advanced features such as upscaling are generally not available. There is also no Arm build of OpenEmu available at time of writing.

Fightcade[edit]

Fightcade is a matchmaking frontend for playing many arcade fighting games online with other players. There is no Arm build at time of writing.

Game-Specific Emulators[edit]

Some emulators target specific games rather than emulating whole systems.

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Games List Recommended
ScummVM 2.7.0 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ List ✓
DREAMM Site ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ List ✓

Arcade[edit]

Most Arcade Cabinets[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]

Sega Atomiswave[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Flycast 2.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]

Sega Naomi/Naomi 2[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Flycast 2.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]

SNK Neo Geo MVS[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
FinalBurn Neo 1.0.0.2 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ NC ✓ ~
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]

Arcade LaserDisc[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Hypseus Singe 2.10.4-1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗

Nintendo[edit]

NES/Famicom[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Nes-emu-iOS git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
SwiftNES git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ [N 3]
Nin git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ ~
Mesen 0.9.9 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 3]
MetalNES git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ~ ✗ [N 3]
NESMac 0.3.6a 68k
0.3.6a PPC 		✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ [N 4]

Super Nintendo[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Snes9x 1.62.3 git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ NC ✓ ✓
bsnes
(Official) 		v115 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
bsnes-hd
(forked bsnes) 		beta 10.6 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Mesen 0.9.9 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 3]
Mednafen 1.31.0-UNSTABLE ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Silhouette 1.0 ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ [N 4]

N64[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 5]

GameCube[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Dolphin 5.0 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Wii[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Dolphin 5.0 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Wii U[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Cemu 2.0 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Switch[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Ryujinx Releases ✗ ✗ ~ [N 6] ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Yuzu [~] ✗ ✗ ? ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ [N 7]

Game Boy/Color[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Game Link Support Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
SameBoy 0.15.8 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
SkyEmu releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ? ? ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
mGBA 0.10.2 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
KiGB 2.09 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ ✗ ~ ~ [N 8]
Gearboy 3.4.0 ✗ ? ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ? ? ✗ ✓ ✓ ~ ~ [N 9]
Mesen 0.9.9 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ~ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 3]
VisualBoy Advance-M (VBA-M) 2.1.5
Nightlies 		✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~
Swift-plays-Pokemon git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ [N 10]
Gambatte r571 ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ? ? ? ✗ ? ✓ ✗ ✗
GBMac 1.2.6b4 ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ [N 4]

Game Boy Advance[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Game Link Support Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
SkyEmu releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ? ? ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
NanoBoyAdvance Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
mGBA 0.10.2 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Boycott Advance 0.4.4 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ~ ~ [N 8]
Gearboy 3.4.0 ✗ ? ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ? ? ✗ ✓ ✓ ~ ~ [N 9]
VisualBoy Advance-M (VBA-M) 2.1.5
Nightlies 		✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~

DS[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
DeSmuME 0.9.13 ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
MelonDS 0.9.5 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Medusa Beta ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 11] ✓ ✗

3DS[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Citra site
beta 		✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 12]

Sega[edit]

SG-1000[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
RetroVM Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓

Master System[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
RetroVM Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓

Mega Drive/Genesis[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Generator 0.4.8 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]
Genesis Plus 1.3.5 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Mega CD[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

32X[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Saturn[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Mednafen 1.31.0-UNSTABLE ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Yabause 0.9.15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗

Dreamcast[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Flycast 2.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Redream 1.5.0 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Game Gear[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Sony[edit]

PlayStation[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
DuckStation git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
PCSX-R git
MacGarden 		✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓
PCSX-Redux git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~
Mednafen 1.31.0-UNSTABLE ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Connectix VGS 1.4.1 ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ [N 4]

PlayStation 2[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
PCSX2 Nightly ✗ ~ [N 13] ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
AetherSX2 Releases ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 14] ~ ✓
Play! 0.60 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗

PlayStation 3[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
RPCS3 0.0.27 Alpha ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 15]

PlayStation 4[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Obliteration github ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ [N 16]

PlayStation Portable[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
PPSSPP 1.15.4 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

PlayStation Vita[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Vita3K Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~

Microsoft[edit]

MSX/MSX2[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CocoaMSX git ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ~ ~
fMSX 6.0 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]
RetroVM Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓

XBox[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Xemu Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Commodore[edit]

Vic-20[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

C64[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
VirtualC64 Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Frodo 4.4.4 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 8]
VICE 3.7.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 17] ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗

Amiga[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
vAmiga Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
FS-UAE 3.1.66 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗

Atari[edit]

Atari 8-bit family[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Rainbow 1.6.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Atari 2600[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Atari 5200[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Jum52 1.1.4 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Atari ST[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Hatari 2.4.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Atari Lynx[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Mednafen 1.31.0-UNSTABLE ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Handy 0.9.11 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

SNK[edit]

Neo Geo AES/CD[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
FinalBurn Neo 1.0.0.2 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ NC ✓ ~
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]

Neo Geo Pocket/Color[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Mednafen 1.31.0-UNSTABLE ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Neopocott 0.5.5 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Coleco[edit]

ColecoVision[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Mugrat 0.5.0 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Bandai[edit]

WonderSwan/Color[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Mednafen 1.31.0-UNSTABLE ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Oswan 0.8.6 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Apple[edit]

Apple I + II + III[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
OpenEmulator 1.1.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ ✓
GSplus 0.14 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ?
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]

NEC[edit]

PC-98[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
SL9821 Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ ✓
Neko Project II Website ✓ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗

PC-Engine/TurboGrafx/SuperGrafx[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Mednafen 1.31.0-UNSTABLE ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Mesen 0.9.9 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ~ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 3]
TGEmu 0.3.8 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ? ~ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

Fujitsu[edit]

FM Towns[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal Gamepad Support FLOSS Active Recommended
Tsugaru Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ?

Tandy[edit]

TRS-80[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
TRS80GP Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
SDLTRS2 git ✗ ✗ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗
TRS-80 Emulator for Mac OS v1.6 ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ [N 4]

Sinclair[edit]

ZX Spectrum[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
ares v132 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
RetroVM Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ?
Fuzzbug 0.0.5 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ [N 8]
Fuse Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ✗
Mac Spectacle Mac Spectacle ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✗ [N 4]

Oric[edit]

Oric 1 / Atmos[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

Amstrad[edit]

Amstrad CPC[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
RetroVM Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ?

Acorn[edit]

Electron[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
CLK 2023-05-15 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓

BBC Micro[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
Horizon 2.1.1 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

RISC PC[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
RPCEmu Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✗ ~

Thompson[edit]

MO5[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
MO5 2.6.7 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

TO7[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
Thom 1.6.5 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

TO8[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
TEO 1.8.7 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 8]

IBM PC Compatible / MSDOS[edit]

Name Latest Version PPC x86 x64 ARM OpenGL MoltenVK Metal FLOSS Active Recommended
Boxer Website
Fork 		✗ ✓ ✓ [N 18] ✓ [N 19] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ ✓
86Box 3.11 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
DOSBox Staging Releases ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
DOSBox-X 2023.05.01 ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓
DOSBox 0.74-3
SVN 		✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ~
MAME 0.255 ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ [N 1] ? ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ~ [N 2]
Dapplegrey Website ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ? ✗ ✗ ? ~ ✗
PCem git ✗ ✗ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓ ~ ✗

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 No official Arm build. Needs to be built from source
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 Command line application. Best played using OpenEmu.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Must compile from source.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Classic Mac OS only.
  5. ↑ Experimental. Uses MoltenVK for hardware acceleration, but still uses OpenGL to display frames.
  6. ↑ Some games may work with an x64 Intel Mac, but performance will be sub-par.
  7. ↑ Must compile from source. Not stable, Mac not officially supported yet
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 8.14 8.15 8.16 8.17 8.18 Requires paid version to access extra emulation features
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 v3.4.0 release does not work with Rosetta. For Arm version must compile from source. Disable Vsync if it is slow.
  10. ↑ No Audio. Must compile from source and run from command line.
  11. ↑ Not open sourced yet, but will likely be opened later in development
  12. ↑ Mac version is currently in beta. Available here
  13. ↑ Unofficial 32-bit builds available here.
  14. ↑ Based on PCSX2, so it is partially FLOSS. The ARM parts are currently closed source.
  15. ↑ Compatibility varies depending on the title
  16. ↑ Very early in development. There is currently no graphics backend.
  17. ↑ Site says Arm versions are available, but they are x64 apps. Will probably be fixed in later releases.
  18. ↑ There is a fork of Boxer that supports x64
  19. ↑ There is a fork of Boxer that supports Arm
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