ES-DE 3.4.0-56 is now available for download
We're happy to announce that ES-DE 3.4.0-56 for Android is now available for download!
This release introduces play time tracking to show for how long games have been played, using an identical logic to how it works in Steam. This does however require that themes get updated to support this feature, so make sure to update your themes regularly in the coming days and weeks as this functionality is getting rolled out by the theme developers. The bundled Linear theme already has support for this new feature.
Three new systems have been enabled as of this release, Valve Steam (steam) using GameNative and GameHub Lite, Sony PlayStation 3 (ps3) using aPS3e and Epic Games Store (epic) for which you can import and launch native Android games. For the steam and ps3 systems you can find setup instructions in the User guide or you could join our Discord server if you need support.
There is now also experimental support for running RetroArch in multi-user setups. This has currently been enabled for a handful of emulator entries to make sure we capture potential firmware bugs and similar that may prevent this from working. If it turns out to be stable across a wide range of hardware then this will be rolled out to all emulator entries in the future. Please report any RetroArch game launching issues you run into via our Discord server (you can see in the Changelog for which systems this new configuration has been enabled).
Another nice feature is that Samsung DeX is now supported by ES-DE, but this is actually due to a policy change by Samsung and not due to any changes inside ES-DE. Still this release contains some bug fixes that should make the DeX experience better. Just be aware that you need to use One UI 8.0 or later for this to work as Samsung has not enabled this on earlier OS releases.
Dual-screen devices have also received some love in this release and there is now a new menu entry in the Other settings menu named "Launch games on the other screen" to control on which screen to run games and emulators. There are also a couple of bug fixes and improvements that should make it a better experience to use ES-DE on dual-screen devices.
Translations to Arabic (ar_SA) have also been added in this release, as well as support for a number of additional regions when scraping using ScreenScraper.
There are many additional improvements in this release, as well as support for several new emulators, see the Changelog for all details.
Download link: ES-DE_3.4.0-56.apk
MD5 hash: bfcbdd95c5152c901939a52a59bfef2f
If you need support then please join our Discord server:
Enjoy the release!
Comments (154)
I'm trying to get the download link for my retroid pocket five can I get help?
Hi, I responded to you in the post for the 3.5.0-65 release.
I wish Josh King with his MCON app integreted this tech into their MCON controller app! That would be literally perfect! MCON's style or theming and features along with ES-DEs amazing features would be a gamechanger! Collab? 🥺
Interesting, but that is a completely different application and we don't collaborate with other applications in this way. This doesn't meant that there aren't things in their app that could be interesting to replicate somehow in ES-DE. I haven't tried the app though so I'm not sure what those things could be.
Retro Gaming Corps put me on
setting up looks scary but here we go lol. been bingeing russ' videos
Good luck, it's not that hard as I hope you'll realize :)
And I buy it
Maybe you're running into this Gmail bug? https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/blob/master/FAQ-ANDROID.md?ref_type=heads#i-received-an-update-email-to-my-gmail-account-but-the-apk-download-link-doesnt-seem-to-work And some people in Turkey for instance have problems downloading the APK due to the nation-wide censoring proxy blocking the CDN, in this case you could try changing "packages" to "packages2" in the download URL to use our backup download server instead.
Please I can't download it it's stock in 100 %in gmail
I buy I can't download it
Hey, this may be the wrong place for this. But I recently purchased a RPC and was told to download this and use it as a front end. But have no clue what to do beyond this. I know how to find roms, but I'm not sure what to do beyond that. Could you provide any advice or even point in the right direction.
Hi, if you need help with the setup I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hi, I’d like to suggest a small UX improvement regarding navigation on the ES-DE home screen. Currently, switching between systems is done using the directional pad (left/right). While this works, it would feel much more intuitive—especially with modern controllers—if we could also use the shoulder buttons (R1 / L1) to quickly jump from one system to another.
Thanks, yes I've been thinking about some better way to fast-jump in the system view, also perhaps adding a menu similar to the gamelist options menu.
Does ES-DE support the AYN Thor handheld device? On my unit, ROM folders on the SD card are recognized and the games appear in the menu, but they do not launch. Is official support planned, or is there a recommended way to make it work?
It seems possible to make ES-DE work on the AYN Thor with complex manual settings, but this feels the same as not being supported. Such complicated steps are too difficult for me. Will ES-DE have official support for the AYN Thor in the future?
I can't get past the initial welcome screen, frozen on the first screen, using gammaOS on android14, any help?
If you need support I recommend joining our Discord server (although if there is a GammaOS-specific issue you may need to check with them for a solution): https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Muy buenas y ante todo mis agradecimientos por este fabuloso desarrollo. ¿Como puedo evitar que al arranque ES-DE escanee toda la lista de juegos para acortar el tiempo de arranque?. Un saludo y muchas gracias.
Hi, I recommend joining our Discord server if you need help with ES-DE, although there is some documentation available here on how to speed up startup times: https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/blob/master/FAQ-ANDROID.md?ref_type=heads#es-de-takes-a-very-long-time-to-start-is-there-a-way-to-improve-this
How can I add it to obtanium if I downloaded it through an apk
Hi, future ES-DE updates are provided via email, and not via Obtanium.
download link is not working?
works fine, just downloaded one.
The ai on my pc keeps telling me i have the wrong apk since the main menu isn't showing systems or emulators. Where do I get the full version?
Hi, I don't think I understand what you mean? But for any ES-DE support questions I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Can I have my ISO's Games on my SD in a Retroid Pocket G2 for this launcher? I'm new :(
Hi, if you need support I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hi, I have accidentally deleted the designated bios folder on the sd card. Is it possible to recreate it somehow?
ES-DE doesn't create any BIOS folder and doesn't manage BIOS files so I guess this is something to do with an emulator? If you anyway need support with ES-DE I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
I Need help with my new Thor, after install ES when I access to the games the screen goes in black and I have to exit the app. I'm very frustrated...
Hi, not sure what that can be about, but strange problems can occur if you have a faulty SD card for instance. For this and other support questions (like trying to figure out what could be wrong with your device) I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hi, I want you to please help me. I already have ES installed, but how do I update it so it keeps the same configuration?
Updating will retain all your settings, if you need help with this or anything else I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Got the membership after trying it out by getting the apk link thru... that one site, and I'm glad I got it. Although I'm not sure if I got into the mailing thingy, should've had some kind of email verification to confirm
Ok I just read that one comment, I gotta wait a week to get in
Hi! i have issues with nds files always try de open a game the emulator says the rom doesn't exist, but if i open the same game in the emulator (melon ds) the emulator run the game
Hi, if you need support I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
I downloaded the latest apk but it doesn’t prompt me to update, it only prompts me to install.
If you download the latest one there isn't an update cause you have the latest one
i keep getting the lockfile error when trying to download themes on my odin 3. What might be the issue?
It's caused by a firmware bug for this specific device, but there is a simple workaround documented here: https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/blob/master/ANDROID.md?ref_type=heads#ayn-odin-3
I joined because of RGC. Thank you Russ!
If I was a supporter once and cancelled my subscription, how can I continue to receive updates without having to pay again? If i use this link, i dont recieve an Email: https://resend.es-de.org/
Hi, email addresses are synced once per week from Patreon so you'll be able to use the resend tool next week, until then you can access download links directly here on Patreon.
Listo para cuando me llegue mi odin 3🫣
Good stuff, I just came from watching retro gaming channel on YouTube.
best frontend for android! Love it! Thank you!
Love this frontend and love Cathode theme. Icing on the cake would be ability to play background music some 80s electro would work soo well with Cathode
I'm happy to hear that you appreciate ES-DE! Built-in music support is on the roadmap, but there is a third party solution to get music working in the meanwhile, I recommend joining our Discord server to get help with that: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Install wont work
If you need help with ES-DE I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
thank u
Thank you!
When assigning emulators to the PC Engine and PC Engine CD directories, Geargrafx doesn't appear for the PC Engine CD directory, so it can't be selected. For now, placing the CD image in the PC Engine directory will let you play it with Geargrafx.
We're looking into adding support for Geargrafx for the pcenginecd and tg-cd systems in the next release.
Thank you so much
Thanks for making such a good frontend and keep working on it!
What do u do when it aya it won't install
If you need help with ES-DE (including the installation) then I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Y
just joined, how do i get es-de app on android handheld? do i sent link to device or with email or how?
Hi, you transfer the APK to your device and run it there, if you need support with that or anything else then I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hello you can not select the emulator Eden lagacy as a switch emulator only 2 preset. I managed everything else. Sincerely, aiMIBlackfox
Hi, you need custom system configuration to use this emulator (native support for Eden will be added in the next release). To get help with that I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Thank you for making a great program and sticking around
So we have to pay 6 dollars everytime an update drops?
No you only pay once unless you want to support the project further than that, future updates are distributed via email even if you only paid once.
Funktioniert nach wie vor nicht mit melonds / Nightly Melonds
Hi, if you need support then please join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
hola, disculpa hay una aplicacion para usarse en mi PC, ya la tengo en mi cel
Hi, yes you can download ES-DE for Linux, macOS and Windows from the ES-DE website: https://es-de.org/
Hola acabo de instalar la aplicación y no me deja descargar temas me puedes ayudar,me da error en head.lock gracias
Hi, this is caused by a firmware bug on some devices, you can find a workaround here (same solution for multiple devices): https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/blob/master/ANDROID.md?ref_type=heads#ayn-odin-3
Good evening. I downloaded and after its finished downloading I click on it to open it and it tells me "Safari can’t open the file “ES-DE_3.4.0-56.apk” because no available application can open it." I'm Using a MacBook trying to install program onto my Metroid pocket classic
Hi, the APK is for Android only, you can download the macOS version of ES-DE from the es-de.org website (the desktop OS releases of ES-DE are free).
Good Day, I have a couple of questions, I have had issues with side-loading apps on google platforms, is there plans to have this app certified as an official google play store app? and Do you offer a bulk license so I can install ES-DE on several machines that do not belong to me?
Hi, a Play store release will likely never happen as Google refuses to approve the necessary storage permissions needed by ES-DE. You can install ES-DE on as many of your own Android devices as you want, but not on other people's devices, they would need to buy ES-DE as well. The desktop releases are completly free though (Linux, macOS and Windows).
hello - I downloaded the update directly to my RP5 but when I try to install, it says "App not installed as package appears to be invalid." -- tried redownloading, same error. Halp!
Hi, this is strange, not sure what it could be except that package is not complete? You could perhaps check the MD5 checksum to make sure it's fully downloaded. It's probably easiest to join our Discord server to get support there: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Muchas gracias 😊
He desactivado la protección de analizador de PlayStore y tampoco realiza instalación se queda con la pantalla en blanco y solo tengo opción de cancelar. Es imposible instalar
Not sure what that's about as I can't recall hearing about a similar problem previously. And the device is running 64-bit Android 10 or later? It's probably easiest if you join our Discord server for support: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
No puedo instalar la apk 3.4.0.56 y he descargado la anterior 3.3.0.50 y da el mismo error "se ha producido error al analizar paquete". La instalación es en una tablet 10" 64gb ram 128gb rom y quad-core a 1.8 Ghz
Hi, could you explain how to join the update distribution list since it hasn't asked for my email address at any point? (I haven't installed the app yet because I'm waiting for my console to arrive; if necessary, let me know.) Thank you for your time and for the great app.
Hi, the synchronization from Patreon to the distribution list is done weekly, on Sundays. Until this sync has been done you can access the download link directly here on Patreon.
When I click Download link: ES-DE_3.4.0-56.apk link nothing happens after while we can not reach this web sites occurs so is there any other way to download btw discord is not working in Turkiye so mail or other options
I think the nation-wide censoring proxy in Turkey is blocking the downloads for unknown reasons which is why it doesn't work. I have setup a temporary server that you could try to work around this, just replace packages.es-de.org with packages2.es-de.org in the URL and see if that works. Otherwise you'll need to use a VPN service or similar.
Thank you for the regular updates. I'm running ES-DE on a Retroid Pocket 5, with the Eden emulator. For some reason, ES-DE reverts to Yuzu every time that I start the program. I have to manually go into the settings and update the emulator to Eden. Any ideas?
Hi, if you need support with ES-DE I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Thank you to the ES-DE team for the incredible work you’ve put into this project. Hands down, it’s one of the best retro game launchers available. I’ve been using the desktop version for quite some time and it has been rock-solid. I’m happy to support your work and I’m excited to also try out the Android app. Keep up the amazing work!
Thank you, I'm very happy to hear that you appreciate ES-DE!
Standalone Dolphin doesnt Open i try everything
If you need support I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hi, i am new to this and i cant get RetroArch to run on ES-DE, i am not sure whats wrong but it just hangs and then quit. I am at my wits end in resolving this and i restarted 3 times already.
Hi, if you need support with setting up your device I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
I can't download the themes using the theme downloader; it gives the error 'themes-list/git/head.lock' for writing.
If it's a Retroid Pocket G2 you can read about the solution here, otherwise I recommend joining our Discord server to get support: https://gitlab.com/es-de/emulationstation-de/-/blob/master/ANDROID.md?ref_type=heads#retroid-pocket-g2
Is there a way to reuse the scraped metadata including media files, box arts, videos, guides, and the like from a Steam Deck installation and use thosr on Android? The one thing I liked about the front end I keep going back to, Daijisho, is the widget that shows the last game I played and the latest retroachivement I unlocked. It there something similar on ESDE? If not is a similar feature planned?
Yes you can transfer media and metadata between all operating systems on which ES-DE runs. If you need help with that I recommend joining our Discord server. RetroAchivements integration is on the roadmap, and there's a dedicated "Last played" system in ES-DE that you can enable to show your last played games. Additionally some themes may display your last played game per system in the system view, but this is up to the theme developers to implement.
Es una app muy buen, pero no entiendo porque no agregan yuzu aún :(, solo está Skyline, yuzu es mucho mejor espero lo agreguen que es el que uso actualmente. Fuera de eso está excelente
I'm very happy to hear that you appreciate ES-DE! We have not added Yuzu and its clones/forks due to historical ethical issues with this emulator. We did however add support for Kenji-NX in ES-DE 3.4.0 in addition to Skyline and you can also add any emulator you want using system customizations. If you need help with that or anything else I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Got a new Odin 2 Portal and installed the latest 3.4x release but am not seeing GearGrafx as an alternative emu for PCE. Release notes show this was added back in 3.3x. Any idea why it doesn’t show in the list?
Yes it's available in 3.4.0 so perhaps you have some system customization in place or something. I recommend joining our Discord server if you need support: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hey, great work! I like the feature to start a game on a different screen for my Ayn Thor. Though I'd appreciate if I would be able to have the option on a system basis. So that I can for example start systems with a 4:3 aspect ratio or similar like Gameboy on the bottom screen while widescreen systems/games like the Gameboy Advance start on the top screen without having to manually switch the setting each time I switch to a different system with another aspect ratio. Thanks!
Thanks for your suggestion, we are thinking about ways that this functionality could be improved!
Please add the ability to touch the screen to drag and interact with items and the UI. The fact this is on a touch screen device and we can't use the touch screen is the only thing that makes me want to try other launchers.
Thanks for your suggestion!
Please add a decent scraper that can properly utilize the threads from screenscraper.fr. It's absurd to leave the device on for DAYS to retrieve all the data; when you pay for a premium app, you pay to have these things sorted, or at least a decent PC program. THANK YOU.
Hi, the ES-DE scraper is fully multi-threaded and will fetch all media files in parallel. It is however an interactive scraper so it will search for one game at a time. Search performance on ScreenScraper is unfortunately very poor and we are considering alternatives for future releases. If you want to use a non-interactive scraper you could use Skyscraper, Skraper or ARRM. We have a video on our YouTube channel on how to use Skraper with ES-DE.
Sadly I cannot write you a DM. Pls DM me so I can give you my real email adress for future updates. @ES-DE
That's very strange, if you can post here you should be able to send me a DM as well. But you can also send an email to info@es-de.org and I'll respond to you there.
Screenscraper and ES-DE are not working together. I get login errors. Any ideas if this is an ES issue?
Hi, I just tested and it works for me to use ScreenScraper via ES-DE, so it does not seem to be a general issue with their service at the moment. So likely it's something with your specific account. They have a Discord server, I recommend joining and ask for help there.
I'm clicking the download link and the page isn't loading what do I do
I just tried the link and it's working, so perhaps it's something with your client? Maybe copy/paste the link into a web browser and download it this way?
How du I subscribe the newsletter?
Hi, we don't have any newsletter, but if you mean the update emails then your address will get added to the distribution list, which is done on a weekly basis.
Non mi trova il SNES
I'm not sure I understand what you mean, but if you need support I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Quick question: is there any way to choose Eden as an “alternate emulator” in ES-DE? As of right now there’s only two options in that list, and neither of them are Eden. I can launch Eden from the “android apps” tab, then launch a game, but I’d like it to be more seamless like the rest of the systems I have on it.
Hi, Yuzu forks are not supported by the bundled configuration but you can add in any emulators you want using custom system configuration. If you need help with that I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
How would I enable the DS View on the Ayn Thor, so I can populate the second screen
Hi, if you need support I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
How do I update without losing data from my previous version on android?
Updating is non-destructive, i.e. you will not lose any data by upgrading ES-DE.
I have an issue ton update, a message tells me app not installed.
Not sure what that could be about, but I recommend joining our Discord server if you need support: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hi! Im trying to install this frontend for an old Retroid pocket 2 Running Android 8.1 (With LineageOS) and im not sure what version to download since this newer one gives me ''There was an error parsing this package'' I dont know if there is a specific version for Android 8.1 or if theres a specific installer that i should download for it. Thanks in advance!
I think the app requires Android 10 or later
Hi team, thank you for the great effort. ES has been my favorite launcher. I would like to suggest an update. In Daijisho, you can add different paths to roms. I know that there is a way to do that in ES but it it a bit complicated to beginners like me. If you can consider this update in your next updates that would be great
Hi, I'm happy to hear that you appreciate ES-DE! There are however no plans to change the system and ROM configuration as it would break portability and mean the logic would be different across the supported platforms on which ES-DE runs.
I'm having an issue with launching 3DS games on my AYN Thor. I have Azahar Standalone selected, but when I try to launch the game through ES-DE, it says there's no bootable game present. If I launch it through Azahar directly, it works just fine.
Hi, if you need support with ES-DE then please join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hi. I'm having an issue where I can't download any themes from the Theme Downloader. Every time I try to download one (every theme is the same), it says Downloading theme 0% for about a minute then times out with the error message "Unexpected HTTP status code: 500". The device is definitely connected to the internet.
Large parts of the Internet have been acting strange today after the major Cloudflare outage, so it's probably caused by that. So try again tomorrow perhaps, and if you need more help then I recommend joining our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Tengo error al descargar temas porque se me crea la carpeta temas en android data, tengo android 15 he intentado cosas que he visto pero no consigo nada
Hi, this is caused by a firmware bug on your device. For some devices there are workarounds to fix the problem by changing some OS settings but in other cases the hardware manufacturer will need to release a patch to fix the problem. I recommend joining our Discord server to get help with whether your device can be made to work with the theme downloader: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
While i do love the idea of adding an hours log, i am noticing that it is counting time spent while in sleep mode, if i put the device to sleep while playing a game. At least for me on my AYN thor.
Yes this is by design, if you watch our 3.4.0 release video we discuss this point. So ES-DE will stop counting when you return from the game. You can also define a maximum amount of time to log play time, it's set to 8 hours by default so if you forgot to leave the game and return to ES-DE logging will stop above this threshold, i.e. nothing will be logged at all for any play session that is above 8 hours. This can be set from 1 to 23 hours.
Tx
I’m not sure if this is a bug or a configuration issue. I’ve added the XML file to be able to select other alternative emulators to launch games in, and set Switch to Sudachi. Every time I start ES-DE again, it reverts back to Eden. Eden crashes and freezes on a few games and Sudachi still runs better on my AYN Thor, so is it possible to get the default Switch emulator to stay as Sudachi, or anything other than Eden?
I'm not sure what is going on there, but I recommend joining our Discord server if you need support as perhaps someone there could assist you with this: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
Hello, I have some questions I just got ES-DE not sure if there is a support section I should contact. The Beetle Saturn emulator the audio skips all the time, where do I adjust the audio settings for emulators? I have Batocera so I'm familiar with that , it has lots of audio settings. Also, when I have games in BIN/CUE format (Saturn, Sega CD, NEO GEO CD) in the games list it will show every file for that game. So 1 game will show 20 times for each audio track. How do I just get it to show 1 file to click on for the game? As I'm not sure which one to click on either to launch the game. It works in Batocera. I can't get NEO GEO CD games to run at all. I have NEOCD [Default] set as the emulator. I'm using this on a Odin 2 Portal.
Hi, ES-DE has a quite different design philosophy compared to Batocera in that it's purely a frontend and it won't configure your emulators, so any issues with sound stuttering and similar would be unrelated to ES-DE as it just launches the emulator. The other things you mentioned can be configured, I recommend joining our Discord server for support: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9 You also have extensive documentation available on our GitLab site as well as a growing list of videos on our YouTube channel.
Do you plan on adding the ability to add individual games to the frontend and point? Or to provide more details... being able to add say games that are installed into an emulator and the rom files themselves are no longer there (cias for example)? Even the ability to just add a game entry and point it to an emulator would be swell.
This is already implemented for a number of systems, so it's very much emulator- and system-specific. For example aPS3e, Vita3K, Winlator and GameNative already works like this. If you need more info about this or clarifications etc. then please join our Discord server: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9
I wish I didn't pay for this. This is awful. Even with the xmls half my games won't launch because of some wierd ass file paths. Or I get black screen. or the emulator I specifically want to use aren't even in the xml. What a waste.
It sounds like you have a setup issue on your device, most likely a letter case mismatch for your system directories. I recommend joining our Discord server to get help to resolve this: https://discord.gg/42jqqNcHf9 In the very rare instance that your device is not supported (i.e. due to firmware bugs) and it's not possible to make it work, then please send me a DM and I'll refund you.
That sounds nice, specially the Steam addition to the available emulators repertoire. I just hope you could add support for screen readers someday, unless I'm missing something to use this launcher flawlessly, unlike other ones which, for some reason, are more accessible than Es-De.
Awesome! Please eventually add a preview screen for dual screens one day <3
Hi! - Is it possible to install on Xiaomi TV box?
Hi, ES-DE requires 64-bit Android 10 or later and most Android TV device are running a 32-bit operating system, and/or they have been crippled by removal of the DocumentsUI package which ES-DE and most emulators need. It's not universally true though and the Nvidia Shield for example is running a 64-bit Android TV operating system and works fine with ES-DE.