📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Pyrite64 Lets You Build True N64 Games Without ’90s Toolchain Pain

https://retrohandhelds.gg/pyrite64-lets-you-build-true-n64-games-without-90s-toolchain-pain/

Pyrite64 Is the N64 Homebrew Dream Tool — and It Actually Works

Remember trying to build an N64 game in the late ’90s—only to get lost in cryptic SDK docs, broken compilers, and assembly-level hacks? Yeah, us too. Enter Pyrite64, a fresh, open-source engine and visual editor that finally makes real N64 development human-friendly.

Launched by developer HailToDodongo, Pyrite64 runs on real Nintendo 64 hardware (or accurate emulators) and avoids all proprietary Nintendo SDKs—so it’s legally safe and technically sound. Built on Libdragon and tiny3d, it bundles a self-contained toolchain manager, so no more manual dependency wrestling.

The workflow? Modern and N64-aware:

• Design levels in Blender + Fast64
• Import assets via a slick integrated manager
• Script gameplay with C++ + node graphs (yes, visually)
• Even push light effects like bloom and HDR-style pipelines—optimized for N64’s quirks, not drowned by them

Reddit users are calling it the moment the N64 “became a new console again.” Whether you’re dreaming of Earthbound 64 or just want to finish your own game without throwing your keyboard out the window, Pyrite64 removes the pain.

👉 Check it out on GitHub — and maybe finally ship that N64 game you started in 2003.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Recalbox Hits Deck, Ally, and Legion Go With Big V10 Update

https://retrohandhelds.gg/recalbox-hits-deck-ally-and-legion-go-with-big-v10-update/

Recalbox V10 Drops Like a Console-Filled Thunderbolt for x86 Portables

Forget Batocera FOMO—Recalbox just unlocked its most polished release yet: V10, now officially rolling out on the Steam Deck (LCD and OLED), ROG Ally, and Legion Go. This isn’t just “it runs”—it belongs. Native support for volume, brightness, sleep, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth means booting into Recalbox feels less like a hack and more like switching consoles.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Steam Deck owners: Full, plug-and-play bliss. Keep SteamOS on your SSD, boot Recalbox for GameCube, PS2, Wii—and yes, original Xbox emulation on PC hardware. It’s clean, it’s stable, and it just works.
• Ally & Legion Go users: Experimental for now (no SD card boot yet), but a full install guide is live. The team wisely warns: don’t buy these just for Recalbox… unless you already own one and want a streamlined, Windows-free emulation mode.

Under the hood? Massive upgrades: better arcade performance, expanded 6th-gen coverage (hello, Saturn and N64), and a redesigned frontend that won’t gag when your ROM folder hits a lot of files. New tools even auto-clean up `(Rev A) (Europe)` clutter and smarter favorites.

Bottom line: If you’re deep in the portable emulation game, Recalbox V10 is finally worth a serious look—especially if you value simplicity over tinkering. 🎮✨

[Source: Recalbox]

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

izzy2lost Aims xemu at Android for Original Xbox Emulation

https://retrohandhelds.gg/izzy2lost-aims-xemu-at-android-for-original-xbox-emulation/

Title: Xbox on Android? Meet xemu’s wild new mobile cousin — courtesy of chaos wizard izzy2lost

Hold onto your SD cards, retro fans—Xbox emulation is finally making a beeline for Android, thanks to the ever-chaotic dev izzy2lost (yes, that PSX2 and “Spaghetti Kart” guy). His latest GitHub drop? A mobile fork of xemu, built to run legal Xbox game backups on modern Android hardware.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves:

• 🚧 Still alpha-tier — unsigned APK, self-sourced BIOS/HDD required
• 🐉 Resource-hungry — expect heavy CPU/GPU usage, especially on non-flagship devices
• 🎮 Not plug-and-play — think “devs and degenerates only” for now

That said… if you’ve ever mourned the loss of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2X on handhelds, this could be your calling. Desktop xemu has already proven Xbox emulation is possible—now it’s about trimming weight and optimizing for mobile. And honestly? It’d be wild to see Halo 2 run smoothly on a Steam Deck clone.

Worth watching closely. Just don’t blame us when your phone turns into a space heater trying to load Sunset Overdrive. 🌋

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

Spanish Court Orders ProtonVPN and NordVPN to Block Pirate Football Streams

https://torrentfreak.com/spanish-court-orders-protonvpn-and-nordvpn-to-block-pirate-football-streams/

Spanish Court Orders ProtonVPN & NordVPN to Block Pirate Football Streams — Without Giving Them a Chance to Respond

In a move that’s raising serious legal eyebrows, a Spanish court has ordered ProtonVPN and NordVPN to block access to illegal football streams — before the VPNs were even notified or allowed to defend themselves.

The Córdoba Commercial Court No. 1 granted an ex parte (Latin: inaudita parte) injunction at the request of LaLiga and broadcaster Telefónica Audiovisual Digital (TAD). This means the VPN providers weren’t present during proceedings and only learned about the ruling via media reports. ProtonVPN called the lack of formal notice “troubling,” questioning whether the order holds up under due process standards.

Why it matters:

The court treated the VPNs not as neutral tech providers, but as active enablers of piracy — citing their marketing that highlights geo-bypass capabilities, including match schedules. The order is dynamic: LaLiga can update the blocklist in real time, effectively forcing VPNs to act like ISPs with live piracy monitoring duties.

But here’s the catch:

Both companies operate outside EU jurisdiction — Proton in Switzerland, Nord Security in Panama. That makes enforcement murky at best. Still, LaLiga is calling it a “landmark victory,” suggesting this could be the start of a broader legal strategy across Europe.

Stay tuned — this could set a precedent for how courts handle VPNs in copyright enforcement, especially when due process and global jurisdiction collide. ⚽⚖️

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Dolphin Guide: How to Use Texture Packs on Android

https://retrohandhelds.gg/dolphin-guide-how-to-use-texture-packs-on-android/

How to Turn Your 20-Year-Old GameCube Games Into Actually Pretty (On Android!)

Remember those jaw-dropping “ Twilight Princess in 4K?!” YouTube clips? Nope, not upscaling magic—just texture packs on Dolphin Emu, especially the Android version. And yes, it is possible to pull off on your handheld like an Odin 3 or AYN Thor Pro (if you’ve got the RAM to spare).

TL;DR:

✅ Get a texture pack (preferably an Android-optimized one)

✅ Extract the ZIP, copy the folder into Dolphin’s `Textures > [GameID]` directory

✅ In Dolphin: Enable Vulkan, Hybrid Ubershaders, and Load Custom Textures

✅ Hit play—watch as ancient text stops looking like a pixelated nightmare

Why It’s Harder on Android (But Worth It):

For years, `.dds` textures—the modern, compressed standard—didn’t work at all on Android Dolphin. You had to wrestle with raw `.png` files like some kind of emulation masochist. But since 2023? Dedicated Android support is here, and tools like RAR (free!) help bypass Android’s sneaky file restrictions.

Pro Tips:

• RAM matters: Aim for 8GB+ (12GB ideal). Big packs = big memory hogs.
• Region lock? Always match your texture pack’s region (e.g., NTSC-U vs. PAL) to your ISO.
• Crashing? Double-check shaders, close background apps, and please don’t try this on a Magmi Air X.

Got it working? Drop your before/after screenshots in the comments—or better yet, join the Discord. And hey—if Henriko’s 4K Twilight Princess pack isn’t on your radar yet, go forth and worship the graphics gods. 🗡️✨

Link via Retro Handhelds

📰 New article from TorrentFreak

ACE Targets Pirate Streaming Site ‘HDFull’ Through Cloudflare and Discord Subpoenas

https://torrentfreak.com/ace-targets-pirate-streaming-site-hdfull-through-cloudflare-and-discord-subpoenas/

HDFull Under Fire: ACE’s Double-Pronged Attack Targets Discord & Cloudflare

Pirate streaming giant HDFull—a Spanish-language hub for movies and TV shows—just got hit with a one-two punch from anti-piracy group ACE (Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment). The group, backed by major studios like Warner Bros. and Universal, filed two DMCA subpoenas last week: one targeting Discord, the other Cloudflare.

On Discord, ACE went after the massive HDFull Oficial server (33K members), which not only hosted piracy links but also helped users evade ISP blocks and use VPNs to bypass restrictions. The server vanished on Feb 11, replaced by a new one days later—likely in response to ACE’s Feb 9 takedown notice. The subpoena seeks real-world IDs of two key admins: “hdfull” and “xenus9999,” accused of sharing links to The Batman, It Chapter Two, and Furious 7.

Meanwhile, ACE turned to Cloudflare, demanding user data for 19 pirate domains, including HDFull.org, kinox.to, Pelisflix mirrors, and anime/anime portals. The list spans multiple languages and regions—proof of how global—and includes recent blockbusters (Moana 2, Gladiator 2) and classics (Tenet, Tangled).

Though the subpoenas still need court approval—and contain a suspicious “2025” typo—the move signals ACE’s growing reliance on U.S. legal tools to dismantle pirate infrastructure from behind the scenes.

For HDFull? It’s business as usual—for now—with over a dozen backup domains and a rebuilt Discord server. But the net is tightening. 🎣

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Sega’s Police Raid Preservation Scandal Keeps Getting Worse

https://retrohandhelds.gg/segas-police-raid-preservation-scandal-keeps-getting-worse/

Sega’s Police Raid Scandal: From Dev Kit Heist to Full-On Governance Crisis 🚨

What started as a quirky clearance-sale story has spiraled into one of gaming’s biggest preservation emergencies—and it’s getting wilder by the day.

Back in 2024, a UK reseller legally bought a cache of vintage Sega and Nintendo dev kits—including rare GBA/DS/3DS prototypes (like the elusive Rhythm Thief DS port)—only to have his home raided at dawn by City of London Police. Consoles and hardware vanished, and the seller was arrested on vague money-laundering charges… with no clear explanation of what he allegedly did wrong.

Now, documents suggest Sega and private investigator Fusion 85 were explicitly named in the search warrant—raising red flags about privatized law enforcement and due process. Even worse: court records appear inconsistent, with no clear account of which warrant was actually approved. Yikes.

The seller—now defiantly tweeting under the handle @Dariusaurus—is calling this a “Tier-1 governance scandal,” and preservationists are losing sleep over the precedent: If companies can now weaponize police to reclaim “mistakenly sold” dev hardware, where do we draw the line?

Judicial reviews are underway, lawsuits are brewing, and Sega’s silence is deafening. This isn’t just about old hardware—it’s about who gets to control gaming history.

Source: X / Time Extension

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

PlayStation Flex: Pay More, Own Nothing

https://retrohandhelds.gg/playstation-flex-pay-more-own-nothing/

PlayStation Flex: The “Rent-to-Own” Trap That’s Not Even Close

Sony and UK rental firm Raylo have launched PlayStation Flex—a PS5 leasing program that sounds like a deal until you do the math. At £9.95/month for 36 months, you’ll shell out £417.24 for the 825GB digital PS5—almost as much as buying new (£479.99)—but walk away with nothing at the end.

Worse? The “cheap” rate only applies if you lock in for three years. Go month-to-month? £24.49/month—that’s nearly £883 over three years… still no console ownership. And cancel early? You’re on the hook for at least 20 months of payments, even if you bail.

The approval process? 60 seconds, soft credit check only. No income proof, no questions asked—just easy access to debt for people already stretching their budget.

This isn’t convenience—it’s a modern rent-to-own scam, dressed up with greenwashing about “circular economies.” Raylo’s already loaded up on £180M in debt to scale this model, and it’s heading to the U.S. soon.

Bottom line: If you can afford it, buy used. If not, wait for a sale—or just save up. At least then, it’ll be yours.

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

Dolphin Emulator Finally Brings Triforce Arcade Support to Main Branch

https://retrohandhelds.gg/dolphin-emulator-finally-brings-triforce-arcade-support-to-main-branch/

Dolphin Emulator Finally Breaks Into the Arcade — With Triforce Support!

After two decades of faithfully emulating GameCube and Wii, Dolphin has finally stepped out of your living room—and into the neon glow of arcades. The latest dev build (2512-395) now officially supports Nintendo’s Triforce arcade platform, a milestone years in the making.

Triforce was always an odd duck: built on GameCube hardware but with custom parts like GD-ROMs, arcade-specific networking, and I/O boards. Early attempts to emulate it were clunky, got disabled in 2016, and lingered in a forgotten fork. Now? It’s been rebuilt from scratch and merged into mainline Dolphin—no more janky forks required.

The library is small but iconic:

• Mario Kart Arcade GP & GP 2 (with Pac-Man crossovers and card-scanning tricks!)
• F-Zero AX (unlocks content from both home and arcade versions)
• Virtua Striker 3 & 4 (Sega’s arcade soccer legacy)
• Japan-only gems like The Key of Avalon and Gekitou Pro Yakyuu

Even better: it’s already running on Android—think Retro handhelds like the Retroid Pocket 4+ (SD865 or better). And yes, networked multiplayer works too, meaning local co-op Mario Kart across multiple devices is finally possible.

Arcade nostalgia just got a serious upgrade. 🕹️

📰 New article from Retro Handhelds

MagicX Two Dream Teased In New Images [UPDATE]

https://retrohandhelds.gg/magicx-two-dream-teased-in-new-images/

MagicX’s Two Dream Handhelds Are Looking Real—And Colorful

MagicX is teasing its next-gen handheld duo—the Two Dream Light and Two Dream Pro—with fresh images revealing not just sleek 4.5-inch, 1440×1080 screens but also four bold color options: Aquamarine, Purple, Black, and Grey. Each model gets its own visual flair—especially with those cheeky “Skittles” buttons on Black and Grey Pro units.

While specs remain thin on the ground, community buzz suggests the Light model might pack MediaTek’s D7050 (think PSP/Dreamcast-era power, but efficient), and the Pro could get the beefier D7350—enough oomph for most GameCube classics, if not all. Either way, it’s a shot across the bow at AYANEO’s Pocket Air Mini.

What makes this extra intriguing? MagicX isn’t chasing raw specs or premium pricing. They’re betting on fun—oddball designs, hall-effect sticks, front-firing speakers—and nudging the midrange toward innovation. If the Light hits sub-$100 and Pro stays under $200, this could be the sweet spot for retro fans tired of bloated flagships.

No official launch date yet—but with rumors swirling and Discord buzzing, 2026 might finally see the RP2S’s true heir emerge. 🎮✨