RetroArch has become in a very short time one of the best retro console emulators that we can find. This software acts as a frontend for the Libretro emulator kit, and we can run it on practically any platform, both PC (Windows, Linux, macOS) and mobile phones, and even on next-generation consoles like the PS4 and the Nintendo Switch. This software is totally free and open source, and has excellent maintenance by the community, thanks to which we can see the most interesting news and improvements such as those we can find in the new version 1.9.0 of the program.
A few hours ago, the RetroArch developers announced the launch of the new version of this frontend for Libretro emulators. This new version brings with it a series of changes and improvements that make using this program as comfortable and simple as possible. And the most important, without a doubt, is the new way of searching for games within the aggregated games lists of this program.
What’s New in RetroArch 1.9.0
New search function in game lists
Without a doubt, one of the main features of this new version is the new “exploration” view for all the lists of games that we have added to the program. This view takes advantage of the metadata included in the libretro databases and allows us to search and find content based on various parameters, such as:
- Number of players
- Developer / Editor
- System
- Country of origin
- Release year
- Gender
This feature is still a bit incomplete, so it may not be available for all games, and all platforms, as it should appear. This will be solved little by little, since the RetroArch developers have committed to adding all kinds of information to their databases so that this search engine is the most useful.
Improved game search
Another important new feature of this version is that the RetroArch search function has been improved. From now on, when we enter the search function, it acts as a “filter” that only makes it appear all the entries that match said search. And we can add new filters until we find the game we were looking for.
By selecting “Cancel” what we will do is delete the last filter entered instead of deleting the entire search query.
Other news
Other new features that have come to this new version of RetroArch are:
- A new animation when loading the games.
- Improvements when assigning keys or buttons on controllers with new drop-down lists.
- FFMpeg playback improvements.
- Important changes in the program menu.
- Memory and disk usage improvements, which translates into better overall program performance.
Of course, a large number of bugs have also been fixed and many of the cores have been improved to give users the best possible emulation experience.
We can see the complete list of changes, and how these news work, from this link .
to download
This new version is now available to all users. And, of course, it is a totally free version. If we want to download this program, we can do it completely free from its website .
We remember that RetroArch will come very soon to Steam as a totally free game, and all its cores will also be distributed as free DLCs, changing the way we build our own retro-console for the better.