RetroAchievements: Difference between revisions

!Endorsed?<ref group=n name="endorsed">Emulators officially supported and endorsed by RetroAchievement developers that can be used unrestrictedly. Unofficially supported emulators/frontends, as well as outdated emulator/frontends versions in due time, are softcore-locked as of April 2025 and cannot be used in hardcore mode, and will not have leaderboard support. It is highly discourageable to sign into RetroAchievements in unofficially supported emulators as unofficial emulators may be malicious with hidden features and consequences including but not limited to: Malware/viruses, being keylogged and having your account stolen, the unlock of achievements not working correctly, and/or being banned/suspended from the RetroAchievements service.</ref>

|align=left|Introduced [https://retroachievements.org/system/16-gamecube/games GameCube] achievements since July 15, 2024 on x86 platforms.<ref>https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2024/07/15/unlocked-retroachievements-come-dolphin/</ref>RetroAchievements support for [https://retroachievements.org/system/19-wii/games Wii and WiiWare] was released on March 19, 2026,<ref>https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/34986</ref> but the new minimum requirement to earn hardcore achievements for both GameCube and Wii games now requires Dolphin v2603a/2603-81 or newer.<ref>https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/34981</ref>

|align=left|Implemented in [https://github.com/gopher64/gopher64/releases/tag/v1.1.16 v1.1.16] on April 16, 2026. However, it is not supported by RetroAchievements, and thus, achievements can only be unlocked in softcore mode. According to the developer—after requesting a hardcore verification review on RetroAchievements—Gopher64 was rejected for hardcore support on May 14, 2026, due to a lack of an in-game achievement browser, which the developer had difficulties implementing due to the coding of the emulator's user interface.<ref name="Gopher64 RA Forums">https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/35449</ref><ref name="Gopher64 RA GitHub Wiki">https://github.com/gopher64/gopher64/wiki/RetroAchievements</ref>

As of September 19, 2025, PCSX2 versions (including stable versions) before nightly build v2.5.162 was forced into softcore mode, so it's highly recommended to use the latest stable or nightly builds.<ref name="PCSX2 pre-v2.5 softcore">https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/32330</ref>

|{{✗}}<ref group="n" name="retired">Former officially-supported emulators that were officially retired from developing achievements or earning achievements in hardcore mode.</ref>

|align=left|Officially supported on June 22, 2026 for both Android and iOS.<ref>https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/36402</ref> As of July 24, 2026, [https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.6.5 v2.6.5] of the Android version is the new minimum version requirement for hardcore mode, with the next iOS update also being the new minimum on iOS.<ref>https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.6.5</ref><ref name="ARMSX2 & melonDualDS July 2026 minimum">https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/36805</ref>

|align=left|Was officially supported on April 2, 2025 for [https://retroachievements.org/system/7-nes-famicom/games NES], [https://retroachievements.org/system/3-snes-super-famicom/games SNES], and [https://retroachievements.org/system/2-nintendo-64/games Nintendo 64] games<ref name="april 2025 support"/> with handhelds and [https://retroachievements.org/system/1-genesis-mega-drive/games Sega Genesis] supported later. However, as of August 14, 2025, Sega Genesis games are restricted to softcore mode due to Sega Genesis emulation and its RetroAchievements integration being locked behind a paywall on Patreon,<ref name="AfterplayLicenses"/><ref name="DeltaGenMD"/>, and thus Delta has been delisted with hardcore mode disabled on September 12, 2025 until changes are made to make Genesis Plus GX and its RA integration free for all users.

|align=left|The Android version of Dolphin received achievement support for [https://retroachievements.org/system/16-gamecube/games GameCube] achievements since v2509-503 on November 22, 2025.<ref>https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/33323</ref> RetroAchievements support for [https://retroachievements.org/system/19-wii/games Wii and WiiWare] was released on March 19, 2026,<ref>https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/35008</ref> but the new minimum requirement to earn hardcore achievements for both GameCube and Wii games now requires Dolphin v2603a/2603-81 or newer.<ref>https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/34981</ref>

|align=left|Implemented in [https://github.com/gopher64/gopher64/releases/tag/v1.1.16 v1.1.16] on April 16, 2026. However, it is not supported by RetroAchievements, and thus, achievements can only be unlocked in softcore mode. According to the developer—after requesting a hardcore verification review on RetroAchievements—Gopher64 was rejected for hardcore support on May 14, 2026, due to a lack of an in-game achievement browser, which the developer had difficulties implementing due to the coding of the emulator's user interface.<ref name="Gopher64 RA Forums"/><ref name="Gopher64 RA GitHub Wiki"/> An Android port was released on May 28, 2026 with the release of [https://github.com/gopher64/gopher64/releases/tag/v1.1.22 v1.1.22].

|align=left|As of January 2, 2026's nightly build and in [https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/melonDS-android melonDualDS] v0.5.0 (SapphireRhondite's dual/external screen fork), DSiWare titles can directly be booted without having to boot Nintendo DSi's home screen, allowing DSiWare titles to be detected by RetroAchievements if booting directly (will not detect DSiWare games booted from the Nintendo DSi home menu).<ref>https://github.com/rafaelvcaetano/melonDS-android/commit/94a693d7bf336359bb3218a673c101b858baa1e7</ref> On February 18, 2026, achievements can be earned offline in softcore mode and be synced online later in [https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/melonDS-android melonDualDS] v0.6.0.<ref>https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/melonDS-android/releases/tag/0.6.0</ref> Also in v0.6.0 of melonDualDS, Nintendo DS(i) games archived in the <code>.7z</code> archive format are now fully playable and detectable for RetroAchievements. All of these new changes and improvements from the dual-screen fork were then implemented into the main project in melonDS-Android's v2.0.0 update on April 18, 2026,<ref>https://github.com/rafaelvcaetano/melonDS-android/releases/tag/2.0.0</ref> excluding features that are in beta testing, such as Vulkan support.<ref>https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/melonDS-android/releases/tag/0.7.0.rc1</ref> As of July 23, 2026, [https://github.com/SapphireRhodonite/melonDS-android/releases/tag/0.7.0.rc5 v0.7.0 RC5] is the new minimum version requirement for melonDualDS<ref>https://github.com/ARMSX2/ARMSX2/releases/tag/2.6.5</ref><ref name="ARMSX2 & melonDualDS July 2026 minimum"/> (soon to be renamed to WatermelonDS) and the offline unlocking feature in softcore mode has been integrated in [https://raofflineproxy.com/ RAOfflineProxy].

|align=left|Was officially supported in v1.8 and newer on April 2, 2025.<ref>https://github.com/Trixarian/NetherSX2-patch/issues/131#issuecomment-2772799926</ref><ref name="april 2025 support"/> The Classic version was updated to [https://github.com/Trixarian/NetherSX2-classic/releases/tag/2.0a v2.0a] on April 8, 2025 to include hardcore support. May eventually be succeeded by EtherealSX2.<ref>https://github.com/Trixarian/NetherSX2-patch/issues/131#issuecomment-2566681639</ref> However, with ARMSX2 being actively developed and having hardcore support, NetherSX2 will lose hardcore support on July 16, 2026.<ref name="NetherSX2 HC support drop">https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/36517</ref>

|align=left|XBSX2 UWP officially supported on April 2, 2025.<ref name="april 2025 support"/><ref>https://github.com/XboxEmulationHub/XBSX2/releases/tag/2.0.8.3</ref> XBSX2 UWP is a fork of XBSX2.0 that continues its development. The original XBSX2.0 is no longer maintained and thus is in softcore mode, as well as older versions of XBSX2 UMP below PCSX2 v2.5.162 starting on September 19, 2025.<ref name="PCSX2 pre-v2.5 softcore"/>

|align=left|The first SBC software supported for RetroAchievements, using [https://github.com/odelot?tab=repositories Odelot's MiSTer fork and cores]. [https://retroachievements.org/system/7/games NES/Famicom] and [https://retroachievements.org/system/81/games FDS] games were officially supported in the [https://github.com/odelot/NES_MiSTer/releases/ NES_MiSTer] core on April 27, 2026.<ref name="MiSTER FPGA">https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/35637</ref> [https://github.com/odelot/MegaDrive_MiSTer Mega Drive] and [https://github.com/odelot/SNES_MiSTer SNES] cores were officially supported on May 23, 2026.<ref>https://github.com/odelot/Main_MiSTer/releases/tag/v1.2.0</ref> [https://github.com/odelot/PSX_MiSTer PlayStation] and [https://github.com/odelot/N64_MiSTer Nintendo 64] cores were officially supported on June 28, 2026.<ref>https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/36477</ref> Other cores may have RetroAchievements implemented and may be usable in softcore mode, but hardcore mode is not yet supported for them. For more information about MiSTer: [https://mister-devel.github.io/MkDocs_MiSTer/ MiSTER FPGA Documentation], [https://github.com/mister-devel MiSTER-devel Github].

* [https://github.com/skyfloogle/red-viper Red Viper] ([[Virtual Boy]] emulator for [[Emulators on Nintendo 3DS|Nintendo 3DS]]) - Being worked on since by a contributor (has a working test fork in softcore mode<ref>https://github.com/mhollis5/RA-red-viper</ref>), approved by the main developer,<ref>https://github.com/skyfloogle/red-viper/issues/7#issuecomment-4272988410</ref> with a pull request submitted to the main project since April 18, 2026.<ref>https://github.com/skyfloogle/red-viper/pull/100</ref>

==How RA Works==

Note: this is a very simplified explanation. For more in-depth documentation, see [https://docs.retroachievements.org/general/how-ra-works.html these] [https://docs.retroachievements.org/developer-docs/game-identification.html pages.]<br>

Achievements work by comparing the game's RAM to the achievement code of a set made by an RA developer. Achievement code, also known as logic, is a list of memory conditions chosen by the developer, that when all are simultaneously true on a single frame, will award an achievement.<br>

RetroAchievements also relies on something called hashes, which help to identify different game versions (different regions, revisions, etc.) and can be seen in the "Supported Game Files" part of a game's page.

==Game Variety==

RetroAchievements does not only support retail games, but it also has [https://retroachievements.org/game/6133 demos], [https://retroachievements.org/game/6225 hacks], [https://retroachievements.org/game/2513 homebrew], [https://retroachievements.org/game/8271 prototypes], [https://retroachievements.org/game/5970 unlicensed games] and even a few [https://retroachievements.org/game/14464 test kits] (only 2 of these currently have achievements), and several games have [https://retroachievements.org/game/20156 subsets.] Hacks and subsets typically require [[Cheats and patches|patches]], which only contain the altered stuff for the game it should be applied to.