EmulationStation Alternatives for Windows
There are many alternatives to EmulationStation for Windows and since it's discontinued a lot of people are looking for a replacement. The best Windows alternative is RetroArch, which is both free and Open Source. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 25 alternatives to EmulationStation and 19 are available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting Windows alternatives to EmulationStation are Mame, Lakka, Pegasus and LaunchBox.
EmulationStation alternatives are mainly Game Emulators but may also be Game Library Managers or Linux Distros. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of EmulationStation.- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Online
- Android
- iPhone
- Blackberry
- iPad
- OpenPandora
- Steam
- Raspberry Pi
- Playstation
- Xbox
RetroArch is a graphical frontend for emulators, game engines, and media players.
RetroArch vs EmulationStation opinions
RetroArch allows you to emulate directly using "cores" included with the program and downloadable from their website. EmulationStation does not do emulation, and only acts as a front-end for other emulators installed on the system.
OKTAYMERCANRetroArch is core (emulator) but emulationStation is like a interface or GUI.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- AmigaOS
- MorphOS
MAME stands for Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator. When used in conjunction with images of the original arcade game's ROM and disk data, MAME attempts to reproduce that game as faithfully as possible on a more modern general-purpose computer.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Cubieboard
- HummingBoard
- Raspberry Pi
- Nintendo Switch
- Odroid
Lakka is the official Linux distribution of RetroArch and the libretro ecosystem. Each game system is implemented as a libretro core, while the frontend RetroArch takes care of inputs and display.
- Free • Open Source
- Mac
- Windows
- Linux
- Android
- Raspberry Pi
Pegasus is a graphical frontend for browsing your game library (especially retro games) and launching them from one place. It's focusing on customizability, cross platform support (including embedded devices) and high performance.
LaunchBox was originally built as an attractive frontend to DOSBox, but has since expanded to support both modern PC games and emulated console platforms.
Mednafen is a portable, utilizing OpenGL and SDL, argument(command-line)-driven multi-system emulator with many advanced features.
A front-end or user interface (UI) is the presentation and interaction layer of an app or website. Most modern emulator apps have basic game list UIs that you can interact with using a mouse/keyboard but not a game controller.
BizHawk is a multi-system emulator designed predominantly around the production of Tool Assisted Speedruns (TAS). BizHawk focuses on core accuracy and power user tools while still being an easy-to-use emulator for casual gaming.
- Free • Open Source
- Windows
- Windows Mobile
- Windows Phone
- Xbox
RetriX is an emulator front end for UWP, on all the hardware platforms it supports: it serves the same purpose as RetroArch but is built from the ground up to integrate as well as possible with Windows.
Simple and all in one emulation with RomStation!.