The game emulation situation on iOS just got real. The oft rejected game emulator Delta has finally made its way to the App Store. Additionally, the Delta developer has also published their alternative marketplace, AltStore, in the EU today.
Riley Testut, maker of Delta, logged the App Store experience as just three years ago here. Riley also unpacked the state of things these days recently on 9to5Mac’s Overtime podcast on YouTube.
Alright, starting with AltStore in the EU, from Riley’s blog post today:
I’m thrilled to announce a brand new version of AltStore — AltStore PAL — is launching TODAY as an Apple-approved alternative app marketplace in the EU. AltStore PAL is an open-source app store made specifically for independent developers, designed to address the problems I and so many others have had with the App Store over the years. Basically, if you’ve ever experienced issues with App Review, this is for you!
We’re launching with 2 apps initially: my all-in-one Nintendo emulator Delta — a.k.a. the reason I built AltStore in the first place — and my clipboard manager Clip, a real clipboard manager that can actually run in the background. Delta will be FREE (with no ads!), whereas Clip will require a small donation of €1 or more. Once we’re sure everything is running smoothly we’ll then open the doors to third-party apps — so if you’d like to distribute your app with AltStore, please get in touch.
And for the rundown on Delta on the App Store, here’s what you can expect:
Delta is an all-in-one emulator for iOS. Delta builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, GBA4iOS, while expanding to include support for more game systems such as NES, SNES, N64, and DS.
FEATURES
Supported Game Systems
• Nintendo Entertainment System
• Super Nintendo Entertainment System
• Nintendo 64
• Game Boy (Color)
• Game Boy Advance
• Nintendo DS
• And plenty more to come!
Controller Support
• Nintendo Switch Pro controllers, Joy-Cons
• Nintendo Switch Online controllers (NES, SNES, N64)
• PS4, PS5
• Xbox One S, Xbox Series X
• MFi game controllers
• Bluetooth & wired keyboards
Save States
• Save and load save states for any game from the pause menu.
• Lock save states to prevent them from being accidentally overwritten.
• Automatically makes backup save states to ensure you never lose your progress.
• Support for “Quick Saves,” save states that can be quickly saved/loaded with a single button press (requires external controller).
Cheats
• Supports various types of cheat codes for each supported system:
• NES: Game Genie
• SNES: Game Genie, Pro Action Replay
• N64: GameShark
• GBC: Game Genie, GameShark
• GBA: Action Replay, Code Breaker, GameShark
• DS: Action Replay
Delta Sync
• Sync your games, game saves, save states, cheats, controller skins, and controller mappings between devices.
• View version histories of everything you sync and optionally restore them to earlier versions.
• Supports both Google Drive and Dropbox.
Custom Controller Skins
• Beautiful built-in controller skins for all systems.
• Import controller skins made by others, or even make your own to share with the world!
Hold Button
• Choose buttons for Delta to hold down on your behalf, freeing up your thumbs to press other buttons instead.
• Perfect for games that typically require one button be held down constantly (e.g. run button in Mario games, or the A button in Mario Kart).
Fast Forward
• Speed through slower parts of games by running the game much faster than normal.
• Easily enable or disable from the pause menu, or optionally with a mapped button on an external controller.
3D/Haptic Touch
• Use 3D or Haptic Touch to “peek” at games, save states, and cheat codes.
• App icon shortcuts allow quick access to your most recently played games, or optionally customize the shortcuts to always include certain games.
Game Artwork
• Automatically displays appropriate box art for imported games.
• Change a game’s artwork to anything you want, or select from the built-in game artwork database.
Misc.
• Gyroscope support (WarioWare: Twisted! only)
• Microphone support (DS only)
• Support for delta:// URL scheme to jump directly into a specific game.
Learn more about Delta here and download it from the App Store here. Also stay tuned for our hands-on video coverage soon!
Update: That didn’t take long!
More
- App Store guidelines now allow game emulators; more
- Game Boy emulator now available on the iPhone following App Store rules change [update: gone]
- Here’s why Apple removed the first Game Boy emulator from the App Store
- Bimmy NES Emulator is the latest game emulation app for iPhone, iPad, and Mac [update: developer decided to pull]
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