Apple updated its App Review Guidelines this month to allow “retro game console emulator apps” in the App Store for iPhone and other devices.
Below we describe everything you need to know about these emulators and the options available so far. This information is current as of April 2024, but Apple’s policies may change over time.
What is allowed?
Apple told us that emulators that can load games (ROMs) are allowed in the App Store, as long as the apps emulate only “retro console games.”
Apple didn’t tell us which consoles it classifies as retro, but developer Riley Testut’s popular Delta emulator is now available on the App Store and can emulate games for Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). ), Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), Nintendo 64 and Nintendo DS.
/article-new/2024/04/Emulators-in-the-App-Store-What-to-Know-2.jpg "Information on Apple's Decision to Permit Game Emulators in the App Store")
There is also a Commodore 64 emulator on the App Store called Emu64 XL.
We haven’t found any other fully functional emulators on the App Store released after the rule change, but more will likely be available in the future. Apple recently removed an emulator called iGBA from the App Store for copying Testut’s code for Delta and its predecessor GBA4iOS, while the developer of the NES emulator Bimmy decided to remove the app from the App Store to avoid the risk of legal action from Nintendo.
Legality
While a US court has ruled that emulators are legal, downloading copyrighted ROMs is typically illegal in the country. On its US customer support website, Nintendo says that downloading pirated copies of its games is illegal:
Pirated copies of game files are often called “ROMs.”
Uploading and downloading pirated copies of Nintendo games is illegal.
Nintendo recently sued the developers of the Nintendo Switch emulator Yuzu for “facilitating piracy on a colossal scale,” leading to a $2.4 million settlement.
/article-new/2024/04/Emulators-in-the-App-Store-What-to-Know-1.jpg "Information on Apple's Decision to Permit Game Emulators in the App Store")
Nintendo has yet to comment on the availability of emulators on the App Store, but Delta and its predecessor GBA4iOS have been available on the iPhone outside of the App Store for over a decade without being shut down. Nintendo issued a DMCA takedown notice against the GBA4iOS website in 2014, but the emulators are still available.
For those who want to follow the letter of the law, it is generally legal to download and play “homemade” games available in the public domain.
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