Open Source RetroArch Alternatives for Windows

There are many alternatives to RetroArch for Windows if you are looking for a replacement. The best open source Windows alternative is Lakka. If that doesn't suit you, our users have ranked more than 100 alternatives to RetroArch and loads of them are open source and available for Windows so hopefully you can find a suitable replacement. Other interesting open source Windows alternatives to RetroArch are VisualBoyAdvance, Ludo, PPSSPP and ScummVM.

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RetroArch alternatives are mainly Game Emulators, but if you're looking for Game Library Managers or DOS Emulators you can filter on that. Other popular filters include Android, Windows, Linux and iPhone. These are just examples - use the filter bar below to find more specific alternatives to RetroArch.
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Alternatives list

  1. Lakka icon
     38 likes

    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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Cubieboard
    • HummingBoard
    • Raspberry Pi
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Odroid
     
  2. VisualBoyAdvance icon
     156 likes

    VisualBoyAdvance (VBA) is a free software (GNU GPL) emulator targeted for the Game Boy, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance handheld game consoles sold by Nintendo.

    42 VisualBoyAdvance alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • BSD
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
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    2
  3. Ludo icon
     21 likes

    Ludo is an Emulator Frontend able to run retro video games. Ludo does not emulate the consoles itself, but does it through emulator plugins called libretro cores. Libretro cores are well known emulators (like Snes9x or Genesis Plus GX or PCSX) stripped from their user interface.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  4. PPSSPP icon
     87 likes

    Run PSP games across platforms in crisp HD, enjoy sharper textures, post-processing effects, anisotropic filtering, save or restore progress, customize input controls, transfer existing saves, play on low-spec devices with JIT-optimized performance, and more features.

    9 PPSSPP alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Flathub
    • F-Droid
    • Meta Quest
     
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    1
  5. ScummVM icon
     126 likes

    ScummVM is a program which allows you to run certain classic graphical point-and-click adventure games, provided you already have their data files.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Windows Mobile
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Symbian S60
    • BSD
    • Snapcraft
    • Flathub
    • Haiku
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
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    1
  6. ZSNES icon
     198 likes

    ZSNES is a Super Nintendo Entertainment System emulator. Aside from emulation accuracy, many interface features first introduced in ZSNES have been adopted by other emulators. ZSNES interface features include: Smoothing and dynamic image scaling; screenshot capture; state...

    25 ZSNES alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
  7. Vita3K icon
     17 likes

    Vita3K is the world's first functional experimental open-source PlayStation Vita emulator for Windows, Linux and macOS.

    5 Vita3K alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
     
  8. Mame icon
     96 likes

    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.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • AmigaOS
    • MorphOS
     
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    2
  9. Snes9x icon
     150 likes

    Snes9x is a portable, Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) emulator. It allows you to play most games designed for the SNES and Super Famicom Nintendo game systems on your PC.

    28 Snes9x alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    1
  10. mGBA icon
     34 likes

    mGBA is an open source emulator of the Game Boy Advance. The goals are speed and accuracy.

    42 mGBA alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
     
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    1
  11. Citra icon
     29 likes

    An experimental open-source Nintendo 3DS emulator/debugger written in C++. At this time, it only emulates a very small subset of 3DS hardware, and therefore is only useful for booting/debugging very simple homebrew demos. Citra is licensed under the GPLv2. Refer to the license.

    18 Citra alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Android
    • Flathub
     
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    1
  12. Project64 icon
     112 likes

    Project64 is a Nintendo 64 emulator for the Windows platform. It employs a plugin system that allows 3rd party developers to implement their own software. It is an emulator, meaning that the user has the option to run ROM files that can be extracted from a Nintendo 64 game...

    26 Project64 alternatives

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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    1
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