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A developer has built a web-based emulator that recreates the IBM 1620 Model 2, a 1960s transistorized decimal computer originally aimed at scientific and engineering users. The project also includes IPL-V, the 1963 operating environment originally used on the machine, letting users run period software directly in a browser.
A programmer released Stars!VM, a self-contained tool that emulates an 80286 processor and bridges Win16 calls to Win32, letting the 1995 4X strategy game Stars! run natively on modern 64-bit Windows without DOSBox, Wine, or retro hardware. The signed GitHub release embeds a compressed copy of the original 16-bit executable, so the single file runs out of the box with added 4K scaling and a modern file picker.
MartyPC is an open-source emulator for early IBM PC and compatible machines, running on Windows, Linux and macOS. Built from scratch by a hobbyist learning Rust, it now offers cycle-by-cycle accurate emulation of the Intel 8088 CPU, validated against a real 8088 chip wired to an Arduino MEGA.
Audio software maker Autodafe has launched Vintage Emulator Studio (VES), a free plugin that uses cores from the open-source MAME emulator to recreate 44 classic drum machines and synthesizers at the component level. The lineup includes famous units like the Akai MPC3000, LinnDrum, Oberheim DMX, and Roland TR-707, complete with skeuomorphic interfaces mimicking the original hardware panels.
A new open-source repository accompanies a technical blog post detailing how to build a rv32ima instruction-set emulator and run a minimal Linux system on it from the ground up. The project includes emulator code, a small set of emulated devices, machine configuration files, and WebAssembly-exposed functions, along with the Linux build configs needed to reproduce the setup.
Developers of the Android PS3 emulator ARMSX3 released version 0.9.7, addressing wasted CPU cycles that caused phones to overheat during use. The update also resolves a freezing bug that occurred when users tried to close the emulator, previously leaving audio playing with no way to exit the game.
A comparison of the two leading retro emulators finds that Dolphin, which handles GameCube games, is generally considered more accurate and easier to run than PCSX2, the PS2 emulator, despite PCSX2 covering a slightly larger percentage of its console's library. Both are free, open-source tools available on Windows, macOS and Linux, with Dolphin also supporting Android, and neither requires top-end graphics hardware to run games at 4K/60fps.
The RPCS3 team has released an update letting users boot original PS3 game discs directly through the emulator, expanding a feature previously limited to Windows into a cross-platform option for Linux, FreeBSD, and macOS. Developers digant73 and Megamouse contributed the code changes, and install times for disc-based games have also been improved.
The RPCS3 development team announced that its open-source PlayStation 3 emulator can now run games straight from physical Blu-ray discs, provided users have a compatible internal or external drive from an extensive supported-hardware list. The update also brings faster installation times for package installs from disc and extends support beyond Windows to Linux, FreeBSD and macOS, including PS4 and PS5 consoles running Linux.
ANBERNIC revealed its RG DS Plus handheld in a YouTube video, showing dual 4.3-inch screens, a free-stop hinge, and a capacitive stylus that stores in an integrated slot like the original Nintendo DS. The device runs Linux rather than Android and will ship with a new custom DS emulator called NNDDSS, which supports screen swapping, touch input, save states, microphone use, and over 70 shader options.
RPCS3 developers publicly criticized Nvidia's unreleased DLSS 5 technology after modders leaked and tested the DLL on games and the PS3 emulator itself, calling the results 'slop' and accusing the industry of using upscaling and frame generation to mask poor optimization. Some users pushed back, arguing that DLSS and FSR frame generation can work alongside optimization efforts, with Reflex helping offset added latency. RPCS3 says it won't adopt such techniques, noting PS3-era games lack the motion-vector data needed for modern temporal upscalers.