Game add-ons
Kodi Game | Game add-ons |
Status on ported currently existing game add-ons for the new Game API made available in Kodi Game branch.
Stand-alone game add-ons
Stand-alone games or emulators that does not use the Libretro API. Possible examples could be, Nvidia GameStream via Limelight or WINE capture could possible through the Game API.
Here will be a list of existing/ongoing non-libretro games or game-platforms/systems once they have been ported into game add-ons for Kodi:
- None so far ?
Here will be a list of existing/ongoing and future/upcoming project for making new stand-alone game add-ons for Kodi:
- Project discussion: "NVIDIA Gamestream in Kodi" http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220421
- Proposal: NVIDIA GameStream http://forum.kodi.tv/showthread.php?tid=220965
Libretro cores
The Game API in the Kodi Game branch has a Libretro wrapper which is 1:1 compatibility with the libretro API, so all libretro cores are valid game add-ons. Libretro itself is a well defined interface to handle the communication between a frontend (Kodi with RetroPlayer) and an Emulator Core (e.g. nestopia).
Here is a list of Libretro cores which have already been ported into game add-ons for Kodi:
Libretro core | Platform emulated | Version | License * | Supports VFS | Supports Rewind | Requires GL | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2048 | Web app | 1.0 | Public domain | Standalone | ? | No | Included in build |
4DO | 3DO | 1.3.2.3 | LGPL | Yes | ? | No | Port in progress |
Beetle bSNES | Super Nintendo | 0.9.26 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
Beetle GBA | GameBoy Advance | 0.9.36 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
Beetle Lynx | Atari Lynx | 0.9.32 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
Beetle NGP | Neo Geo | 0.9.36 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
Beetle PC Engine Fast | PC Engine | 0.9.36 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
Beetle PSX | PlayStation | 0.9.38 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
BlueMSX | MSX | 2.9.2 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
bNES | Nintendo | 0.83 | GPL v3 | Yes | ? | No | game.libretro needs single-frame audio support |
bSNES Mercury "Accuracy" | Super Nintendo | 0.94 | GPL v3 | Yes | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
bSNES Mercury "Balanced" | Super Nintendo | 0.94 | GPL v3 | Yes | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
bSNES Mercury "Performance" | Super Nintendo | 0.94 | GPL v3 | Yes | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
Desmume | Nintendo DS | 0.9.9 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Port in progress |
DOSBox | DOS | 0.74 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
Final Burn Alpha | Arcade | 0.2.97.28 | Freeware | No | ? | No | Port in progress |
FCEUmm | NES | 98.13mm | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
Gambatte | Game Boy Classic/Color | 0.5.0 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Included in build |
Genesis Plus GX | Sega 8/16bit | 1.7.4 | Modified BSD / LGPL v2.1 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
Handy | Atari Lynx | 0.95 | zlib | Yes | ? | No | Included in build |
MAME | Arcade | 0.166 | Modified BSD / GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
MAME 2003 | Arcade | 0.78 | ? | ? | No | None | |
MAME 2010 | Arcade | 0.139 | ? | ? | No | None | |
Mednafen VB | Virtual Boy | 0.9.28 | ? | ? | No | None | |
Mednafen Wonderswan (Cygne) | WonderSwan Color | 0.9.28 | ? | ? | No | None | |
Meteor | Game Boy Advance | 1.4 | GPL v3 | Yes | ? | No | Included in build |
mGBA | GBA | 0.2.0 | MPL 2.0 | Yes | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
Mupen64 Plus | Nintendo 64 | 2.0-rc2 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | Yes | Partial |
NEStopia | NES | 1.46.0 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Included in build |
NXEngine | Game engine (Cave Story) | 1.0.0.4 | GPL v3 | No | ? | No | In progress |
Picodrive | Sega 8/16bit/32X | 1.80 | Non-commercial | Yes | ? | No | In progress |
PCSX ReARMed | PlayStation1 | r19 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Included in linux and OSX |
PocketSNES (SNES9x fork) | Super Nintendo | ? | ? | ? | No | None | |
Prboom | Game engine (Doom 1/2/Final/Ultimate) | 2.0.5 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | In progress |
QuickNES | NES | 1 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Included in build |
ScummVM | Game Engine (various) | 1.6.0 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Port in progress |
SNES9x | Super Nintendo | 1.53 | GPL v2 & Non-commercial | Yes | ? | No | Port in progress |
SNES9x Next | Super Nintendo | 1.52.4 | GPL v2 & Non-commercial | Yes | ? | No | Port in progress |
Stella | Atari 2600 | 3.4.1 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Included in build |
Tyr-Quake | Game engine (Quake 1) | 0.62 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Port in progress |
VBA-M | Game Boy Advance | 1.0.1 | GPL v2 | Yes | ? | No | Included in build |
VBA Next | Game Boy Advance | 1.0.2 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
Yabause | Sega Saturn | 0.9.12 | GPL v2 | No | ? | No | Included in build |
* License is GPLv2 compatible
BIOS requirements
Some libretro cores require a BIOS file to work. For now you will need to find those BIOS files by yourself and and copy them to your system as it may not be fully legal to provide them bundled with each libretro core that needs them. The reason for this is that these BIOSes are usually considered to be in an legal gray-zone and can be a little difficult to aquire, at least legally. For example, since all PlayStation emulators, like Beetle PSX & PCSX ReARMed, require a closed source BIOS file to work, and its BIOS file must be placed in the system folder on your emulator software (libretro cores in this case).
The above linked table lists all the required BIOSes which some emulators requires, so if a systems BIOS is not listed here then it means that it does not require a BIOS file.
- Note that most of these BIOSes are not revered engineered releases but binary ROMs ripped from the EEPROM inside of an actual game console system hardware, so it is proprietary binary blobs (precompiled software binaries) which might still be under copyright depending on the console age and origins. It may be that some of those BIOSes are can be seen as Fair use since these game consoles are no longer sold and there is probabably no commercial value of them, but that is something that the XBMC Foundation need to talk about with attorneys about before being able to distributing such BIOS files as resource add-ons or bundled with each libretro core in an official repository.
What is a BIOS?
A BIOS (Basic Input Output System) is the startup code of a system and is required for certain emulators to work.
Where do I place the BIOS files?
You’ll need to place them into the System Directory.
Alternatively, you can place the into your Content Directory next to the game you are going to play.
Remember, since Linux is a case sensitive system, you have to rename the BIOS files according to this table so that the libretro cores will be able to find the BIOS files.
Why isn’t my BIOS working?
- Make sure the BIOS files are placed into the correct directory (see above).
- Make sure they are named correctly so the core can identify them.
- Make sure it’s the correct version/region of a BIOS.
- Make sure your files are not corrupted (bad source, broken download, etc.).
- Make sure to check the log for any errors.