Playdate

Playdate

Developer	Panic Inc.
Type	Handheld video game console
Generation	Ninth generation
Release date	April 18, 2022
Emulated	✓

The Playdate is a handheld console developed by Panic Inc.

Emulators

Before editing, review the Getting involved and Recommended pages. See system requirements page for performance demand of the emulators.
See tables for hardware variants, enhancements, hardware features and peripherals.
For more details such as licensing, programming language, emulation method, visit each emulator’s dedicated page.

Name	Platform(s)	Latest Version	License	Active	Recommended
PC / x86
Playdate Simulator		3.1.1	Proprietary	✓	✓
Cranked		git	MIT (Permissive)	~	✗
pd-emu		git	?	✗	✗

Comparisons

Playdate Simulator

The official Playdate emulator by Panic, bundled in the first-party Playdate SDK as a test platform for developers. Plays most Lua-coded games perfectly by itself, but by design it does not play encrypted (DRM-laden) Catalog games or compiled C games from disparate platforms. In other words, a Playdate game partially coded in C but compiled on Mac won't run on the Windows simulator and vice versa because the Simulator runs compiled C code natively (as in, without emulation or interpretation).

Cranked

Early-stage open-source Playdate emulator. To-date much of the functionality is missing (sprites, audio, graphical effects), but the groundwork is laid for Lua and C games to boot down the line.

pd-emu

Another early-stage, open-source emulator that cannot be run since the author has yet to integrate the Playdate API.