WinNative is an advanced, high-performance Windows (x86_64) emulation environment for Android. It bridges the gap between desktop gaming and mobile by unifying the best technologies from Winlator Bionic and Pluvia.
Designed for enthusiasts and power users, WinNative delivers the full Winlator experience while making it easy to connect your Steam, Epic, and GOG game libraries.
- Download: Get the latest APK from the Releases section.
- Variants:
Ludashi: Forces both Max GPU and CPU clocks on some devices. (Performance Mode trigger).Vanilla: Standard package name for side-loading with other forks.Antutu: Forces Max GPU clocks on most devices. (antutu benchmark spoof)Pubg: Standard pubg package name which allows some Game Booster advanced Features.
- Setup: Launch the app, allow the ImageFS to install, and start adding your games manually or sync your library.
Requirements: Android Studio, JDK 17, and Git LFS. The NDK
(27.3.13750724) and CMake are only needed if you build native cores from source (see below).
- Clone with submodules and pull LFS objects (Required):
git clone --recursive https://github.com/MaxsTechReview/WinNative.git cd WinNative git lfs pull # fetches imagefs git submodule update --init --recursive
- Build via Android Studio: Open the
WinNativedirectory, let Gradle sync, then select Build > Build APK(s). - Build via CLI: Run
./gradlew assembleStandardDebug(or.\gradlew.baton Windows).
The APK carries no retro console cores. Each core is built from its own fork under the
WinNative-Emu org, and
Retro-Consoles packs every core plus the
Dolphin and ARMSX2 runtime data into one retro-consoles.tzst. The app downloads and
verifies it on demand from Settings > Retro > Download console cores, so a core update
no longer needs an app release. To change a core, change its fork and re-run the
Retro-Consoles bundle workflow.
WinNative can also run classic console games alongside your PC library. Retro games live in the same Library and launch just like PC games, but run on an embedded libretro backend instead of Wine.
Supported systems (bundled cores):
| System | Core | ROM extensions |
|---|---|---|
| NES | FCEUmm | .nes .unf .unif |
| SNES | Snes9x | .smc .sfc .swc .fig |
| Game Boy / Color | Gambatte | .gb .gbc |
| Game Boy Advance | mGBA | .gba |
| Genesis / Mega Drive, Master System, Game Gear | Genesis Plus GX | .gen .md .smd .sms .gg |
| Nintendo 64 | Mupen64Plus-Next | .n64 .z64 .v64 |
| PlayStation | Beetle PSX | .cue .chd .pbp .m3u .iso |
| PlayStation 2 | ARMSX2 (PCSX2 fork) | .iso .chd .cso .bin |
Cores ship prebuilt (committed via Git LFS) and are used by default; they are built from
source with the opt-in flags above (see cores/ for the libretro cores and
armsx2/build-emucore.sh / dolphin/build-emucore.sh for the PS2 and GameCube/Wii cores).
PlayStation 2 online play is supported through the emulated DEV9 network adapter (see the
in-game Online tab).
How to use: In the Library, tap Add Custom Game and select a ROM instead of an .exe. WinNative detects the console and adds the game to your Library. Tap Play to launch it with on-screen touch controls and physical gamepad support; the in-game menu (Back button or on-screen MENU) offers save/load state, reset, and fast-forward. PlayStation and PlayStation 2 BIOS files can be imported from Settings → Retro.
We welcome community contributions! Feel free to open a pull request for bug fixes, driver updates, UI improvements, or anything else you'd like to add.
Please match the existing code style and ensure any AI-assisted code is thoroughly reviewed and tested before submission.
- Original Winlator by brunodev85
- Winlator Bionic by Pipetto-crypto
- Pluvia features by the Pluvia / GameNative community
- Mesa/Turnip contributions by the Mesa3D team
- Goldberg Steam Emulator by Mr. Goldberg, maintained by Detanup01
- LibretroDroid by Filippo Scognamiglio (GPL-3.0) — the embedded libretro host for retro console support
- libretro / RetroArch and the individual core authors, built from source: FCEUmm, Snes9x, Gambatte, mGBA, Genesis Plus GX, Mupen64Plus-Next, Beetle PSX
- ARMSX2 by the ARMSX2 team (GPL-3.0) — the PlayStation 2 core, a fork of PCSX2 (GPL-3.0), built from source into
libemucore. PS2 online play uses PCSX2's DEV9 network adapter