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You can now play Nintendo, PS1, Sega, C64 & more games on Apple TV

16 May 2024 | Rasmus Larsen |

The RetroArch emulator app has been released on Apple TV, allowing you to play retro games from Atari, Commodore, Nintendo, Sega, Sony PlayStation, and many more game systems.

FlatpanelsHD recently reported that the game emulator Provenance is coming to Apple TV. However, the first game emulator app to arrive on Apple TV is RetroArch. It is available now worldwide for free from the app store here.

RetroArch is a free, ad-free and open-source frontend for game emulators and game engines, allowing you to play retro games using different emulators. It supports popular game controllers, including Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation controllers.


30+ game systems

RetroArch includes support for a long list of popular game systems, including Atari, Commodore 64, Nintendo (NES, DS, SNES), Sega, and Sony PlayStation 1. A full list can be found in the table at the bottom. Games need to be loaded into the app as 'ROMs'. While some retro games are available free of charge, others are protected by copyright or exist in a gray area. Multiple websites offer retro games for download as ROMs.

RetroArch Apple TV

Playing PlayStation games like Crash Bandicoot on Apple TV with the game controller of your choice. Photo: FlatpanelsHD

Game emulators have been banned on Apple's platforms for years, but in April the company opened the App Store to emulator apps worldwide. The first popular game emulator to arrive was Delta. It lacks support for Apple TV but works over AirPlay.

How it works on Apple TV

To use RetroArch on Apple TV, the app provides you with your Apple TV's IP address when you open it. You simply type this IP into a web browser on a PC to upload game ROMs. Ensure that the RetroArch app on Apple TV is open during the upload process. In our experience, it is best to upload the ROMs into the RetroArch -> downloads folder, as this makes it easier to locate the games in the RetroArch app on Apple TV. You can then select 'Load Content' and choose the appropriate game emulator.

RetroArch Apple TV

The RetroArch user interface. Select 'Load Content' after you have uploaded game ROMs. Photo: FlatpanelsHD

In our testing, we found that most games work without issues, but not all. For some games, including Commodore 64 games such as 'The Simpsons Arcade Game,' you need to map the joystick controls to the game controller buttons. It is also advisable to configure a game controller to 'Close content' under 'Hotkeys' in the app, as there is no default key to close a game. RetroArch has many advanced options but is relatively easy to use once you get the hang of it. We expect more game emulators to appear on Apple TV in the near future, but RetroArch is a strong start, providing emulator support for over 30 game systems. Now, go relive your childhood!

RetroArch – supported game systems

The following cores are included:
  • 2048
  • Amstrad - CPC (CrocoDS)
  • Amstrad - CPC/GX4000 (Caprice32)
  • Arcade (FinalBurn Neo)
  • Atari - 2600 (Stella 2014)
  • Atari - 2600 (Stella)
  • Atari - 5200 (Atari800)
  • Atari - 5200 (a5200)
  • Atari - 7800 (ProSystem)
  • Atari - Lynx (Handy)
  • Bandai - WonderSwan/Color (Beetle Cygne)
  • Commodore - Amiga (PUAE)
  • Commodore - C128 (VICE x128)
  • Commodore - C64 (VICE x64, fast)
  • Commodore - C64 (VICE x64sc, accurate)
  • Commodore - C64 SuperCPU (VICE xscpu64)
  • Commodore - CBM-II 5x0 (VICE xcbm5x0)
  • Commodore - CBM-II 6x0/7x0 (VICE xcbm2)
  • Commodore - PET (VICE xpet)
  • Commodore - PLUS/4 (VICE xplus4)
  • Commodore - VIC-20 (VICE xvic)
  • Dinothawr
  • Fairchild ChannelF (FreeChaF)
  • GCE - Vectrex (vecx)
  • Game Music Emu
  • Handheld Electronic (GW)
  • MSX/SVI/ColecoVision/SG-1000 (blueMSX)
  • Mattel - Intellivision (FreeIntv)
  • NEC - PC Engine / CD (Beetle PCE FAST)
  • NEC - PC Engine / SuperGrafx / CD (Beetle PCE)
  • NEC - PC Engine SuperGrafx (Beetle SuperGrafx)
  • NEC - PC-98 (Neko Project II Kai)
  • Nintendo - DS (DeSmuME)
  • Nintendo - DS (melonDS DS)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy / Color (Gambatte)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy / Color (Gearboy)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy / Color (SameBoy)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy / Color (TGB Dual)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy Advance (VBA Next)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy Advance (VBA-M)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy Advance (gpSP)
  • Nintendo - Game Boy Advance (mGBA)
  • Nintendo - NES / Famicom (FCEUmm)
  • Nintendo - NES / Famicom (Mesen)
  • Nintendo - NES / Famicom (Nestopia UE)
  • Nintendo - NES / Famicom (QuickNES)
  • Nintendo - Nintendo 64 (Mupen64Plus-Next)
  • Nintendo - SNES / SFC (Snes9x 2005)
  • Nintendo - SNES / SFC (Snes9x 2010)
  • Nintendo - SNES / SFC (Snes9x)
  • Nintendo - SNES / SFC (bsnes)
  • Nintendo - SNES / SFC (bsnes-hd beta)
  • Nintendo - SNES / SFC / Game Boy / Color (Mesen-S)
  • Nintendo - Virtual Boy (Beetle VB)
  • PocketCDG
  • Quake (TyrQuake)
  • Rick Dangerous (XRick)
  • SNK - Neo Geo AES/MVS (Geolith)
  • SNK - Neo Geo CD (NeoCD)
  • SNK - Neo Geo Pocket / Color (RACE)
  • ScummVM
  • Sega - MS/GG (SMS Plus GX)
  • Sega - MS/GG/MD/CD (Genesis Plus GX Wide)
  • Sega - MS/GG/MD/CD (Genesis Plus GX)
  • Sega - MS/GG/MD/CD/32X (PicoDrive)
  • Sega - MS/GG/SG-1000 (Gearsystem)
  • Sega - Saturn (Beetle Saturn)
  • Sharp - X68000 (PX68k)
  • Sinclair - ZX Spectrum (Fuse)
  • Sony - PlayStation (Beetle PSX HW)
  • Sony - PlayStation (Beetle PSX)
  • Sony - PlayStation (PCSX ReARMed)
  • Sony - PlayStation Portable (PPSSPP)
  • Texas Instruments TI-83 (Numero)
  • Thomson - MO/TO (Theodore)
  • Vircon32
  • VirtualXT
  • WASM-4
  • Watara - Supervision (Potator) RetroArch supports a broad range of features, including:
  • Netplay
  • Soft patching
  • RetroAchievements
  • Save states
  • MFi controller support
  • Key remapping per core or per game
  • Gyro
  • Cheats
  • Custom overlays
  • Shaders
  • Fast forward and rewind
  • Game artwork
  • AI translations
  • Advanced latency management
  • FlatpanelsHD
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