Donations & Licenses
Information
RetroDECK is made possible by the open-source community and the many third-party components (Emulators, Multi-Emulators, Game Engines, Games, Ports, Clients) and dependencies (libraries, etc...) it builds upon. Without these RetroDECK would not be possible.
We believe in collaborating openly with other projects to strengthen both RetroDECK and the wider Linux and FOSS ecosystems. Sharing knowledge, contributing upstream when possible and working together helps everyone build better software.
This page lists current and planned components that we may integrate into RetroDECK, along with their respective licenses and donation links if they have them. These lists are continually updated as the project evolves.
We also list third-party software that we cannot include in RetroDECK because it is proprietary or otherwise incompatible with our licensing requirements. While these projects cannot be bundled or be available with RetroDECK, we appreciate the work behind them and provide links where users can learn more or support their creators directly buy either buying their software or donating.
The RetroDECK Team aims to keep our donation needs to a minimum. If we receive donations, they are intended only to cover basic project expenses. RetroDECK exists thanks to the many all other developers, artists and other contributors who make the wider ecosystem possible.
We encourage you to support those projects first.
Support Projects Directly
If you want to support a component or other part of the ecosystem, we strongly encourage you to donate directly to its creators or maintainers.
Using a third party or proxy to handle donations even when it promises to pass them on can result in funds being misdirected, or the intended project receiving less than expected or none of your contribution.
To help ensure your support reaches the right people:
- Donate through the project's official website or donation channels.
- Support the individual creators or maintainers you want to help.
- Avoid third-party services that collect or redirect donations on behalf of other projects unless they are officially endorsed by that project.
No project should control or redirect another project's funding without its explicit involvement. Direct contributions are the clearest and most effective way to support the open-source community and ensure your contribution has the intended impact.
RetroDECK
RetroDECK is a passion-driven, not profit driven project created and maintained in our free time. By donating to RetroDECK, you support the project’s development and our vision of a unified, streamlined experience for retro gaming on Linux handhelds and desktops.
Important: Donations do not grant any special privileges, perks, or early access. RetroDECK is a hobby project, not a commercial product. We only ask for donations in a limited and modest fashion and we genuinely prefer that you donate directly to the software, projects and creators we depend on, as they are the foundation that makes RetroDECK possible.
How We Use Your Contributions
| Area | What It Funds |
|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Web hosting, build servers and other hosting-related costs |
| Development Tools | Occasional software licenses (we prioritize FOSS and Creative-Commons resources whenever possible) |
| UI & Artwork | Commissioned UI elements and artwork from artists (again, favoring FOSS/CC-licensed assets) |
| Hardware (rarely) | New devices for testing and development (details below) |
Explanation: Rare Hardware Purchases
From time to time, the RetroDECK team may need to acquire new hardware to test compatibility or develop new features. If such a purchase is ever necessary, we will always consult the community beforehand.
Examples include:
- Gaming handhelds - Steam Deck, ROG Ally and similar devices.
- Controllers - major-brand and niche models for compatibility testing and profile creation.
- Special peripherals - light guns, racing wheels, X-Arcade cabinets, V-Boards, accessibility controllers, rhythm controllers, etc.
Important: As of now, no hardware has ever been purchased using donations. All devices used for testing and development have been bought with personal funds from RetroDECK team members.
Where to donate / support the project?
Licenses used in RetroDECK:
Components: Systems
| Component | Logo | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ES-DE Frontend |  |
A frontend for browsing and launching games from your multi-platform game backup collection. | Patreon: Android App | License Licenses |
| PortMaster |  |
Your Ultimate Linux Port Manager. | Patreon | Licenses |
| Steam Rom Manager (SRM) |  |
Makers of Steam Rom Manager and SteamGridDB. | Open Collective | Licenses |
| Flips |  |
Makers of Steam Rom Manager and SteamGridDB. | No donation link available or donations not supported. | GPL3 |
Components: Multi-Emulators
| Component | Logo | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ares (Not yet in RetroDECK) |  |
A cross-platform, open-source, multi-system emulator focused on accuracy and preservation. (Not yet added to RetroDECK) | Patreon | Licenses |
| LibreRetro - RetroArch |  |
The LibreRetro Team makes RetroArch, Libretro and Lakka. | Teespring Patreon YouTube Membership Liberapay BountySource | Licenses |
| MAME |  |
A multi-purpose emulation framework dedicated to software preservation. | No donation link available or donations not supported. | Copy License Licenses |
Components: Emulators
| Component | Logo | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azahar |  |
3DS emulator capable of running most titles in a playable state. | No donation link available or donations not supported. | Licenses |
| Cemu |  |
Wii U emulator capable of running most titles in a playable state. | Patreon | Licenses |
| DOSBox-X (Not yet in RetroDECK) |  |
Open-source DOS emulator for running DOS games and applications. | No donation link available or donations not supported. | Licenses |
| Dolphin |  |
Emulator for GameCube and Wii with HD rendering and many enhancements. | No donation link available or donations not supported. | Licenses |
| EKA2L1 |  |
Symbian OS / N-Gage emulator. | GitHub Sponsor | Licenses |
| melonDS |  |
Fast and accurate Nintendo DS emulator with an expanding feature set. | Patreon PayPal | Licenses |
| PCSX2 |  |
Open-source PlayStation 2 emulator with many enhancements. | GitHub Sponsor | Licenses |
| PPSSPP |  |
PSP emulator with HD rendering, texture upscaling, shaders and more. | PPSSPP Gold | Licenses |
| PrimeHack |  |
Modified Dolphin emulator made for Metroid Prime Trilogy with keyboard/mouse support. | No donation link available or donations not supported. | Licenses |
| RPCS3 |  |
Free and open-source PlayStation 3 emulator/debugger for Windows, Linux, macOS and FreeBSD. | Patreon Alipay | - |
| Ruffle |  |
Flash emulator focused on preserving Flash content. | OpenCollective | Licenses |
| Vita3K |  |
Experimental PlayStation Vita emulator for PC and mobile. | Ko-fi | Licenses |
| Xemu |  |
Open-source original Xbox emulator for Windows, macOS and Linux. | Patreon | Licenses |
| Xenia (Not yet in RetroDECK) |  |
Experimental Xbox 360 emulator. | Patreon | Licenses |
Components: Engines
| Component | Logo | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| IKEMEN Go |  |
Remake of the IKEMEN fighting game engine (compatible with M.U.G.E.N resources). | No donation link available or donations not supported | Licenses |
| OpenBOR |  |
Royalty-free sprite-based side-scrolling game engine, growing since 2004 into one of the most versatile engines of its type. | No donation link available or donations not supported | Licenses |
| ScummVM |  |
Engine replacement allowing classic adventure games and RPGs to run on modern devices. | Website - PayPal | Licenses |
| Solarus |  |
Free, open-source 2D Action-RPG engine written in C++ with Lua scripting; inspired by 16-bit classics. | Liberapay | Licenses |
| UZDoom |  |
Modern source port of Doom, supporting new hardware and offering extensive customization options. | No donation link available or donations not supported | Licenses |
Components: Clients
| Component | Logo | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mudlet (Not yet in RetroDECK) |  |
MUD client for playing text-based online games. | Contribute | Licenses |
Architecture
| Component | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| dxvk | Vulkan-based implementation of D3D8, 9, 10 and 11 for Linux / Wine. | - | Licenses |
| Flatpak | As a flatpak we are nothing without the technology. | Flathub Donate | Licenses |
| GameScope | Valves session compositing window manager. | - | Licenses |
| Godot Engine | Multi-platform 2D and 3D game engine. | Godot Donate | Licenses |
| InputPlumber | Open source input router and remapper daemon for Linux. | - | Licenses |
| OpenGamePadUI | Open source gamepad-native game launcher and overlay. | - | Licenses |
| Proton | Valves compatibility tool. | - | Licenses |
| SDL_GameControllerDB | A community sourced database of game controller mappings for SDL Game Controller functionality. | - | Licenses |
| umu-launcher | Unified launcher for Windows games on Linux. | - | Licenses |
| Wine | Wine compatibility layer. | Wine Development Fund | Licenses |
Art and Assets
| Item | Description | Donate / Source | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup Tiles | CC0 tile assets used or referenced. | Tiles Supplemental Tiles | CC0 |
| Freedoom | Open-source Doom-compatible assets. | - | Licenses |
| Kenney.nl | RetroDECK Team owns a separate donation license. | Kenney.nl Patreon itch.io | CC0 & CC1 and RetroDECK Team owns a purchased license. |
| Lahrs Folder Icons | Lahrs contributed an folder iconset to RetroDECK. Some of these icons are based on the original work of Dan Patrick, for which Lahrs obtained formal permission to incorporate and adapt. | - | RetroDECK Team |
| Mini Banner / RetroDECK Theme (Remixed) | A remix of the LaunchBox Mini Banner theme by Weestuarty for RetroDECK; original artwork by Weestuarty, DerSchlachter and Dan Patrick. | Source | Weestuarty |
| Pixel Sans 13 | Pixel-style font. | - | Licenses |
| Pixel UI Theme for Godot | Itch.io Page | RetroDECK Team owns a purchased license. | |
| Pixelitos | Pixel-based icon theme. | - | Licenses |
| SVG Repo | Asset repository of SVG graphics. | Website | Various |
Components: Legacy
| Component | Logo | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DuckStation (Legacy) |  |
A PS1 simulator/emulator focused on accuracy, speed and long-term maintainability. Was marked as legacy due to licensing changes. | No donation link available or donations not supported. | Licenses |
Components: Proprietary / Closed Source
These components cannot be added to RetroDECK, but we want to recognize their work and show their donation / purchase links.
| Component | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses / Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3DSen | NES emulator that transforms classic and homebrew games into full 3D experiences. | Website | - |
| BigPEmu | First Atari Jaguar emulator with full retail library compatibility, high performance and unique features. | Patreon Website | BigPEmu FAQ |
| ReDream | Sega Dreamcast emulator. | Website Premium Upgrade | - |
| DREAMM | DREAMM is a emulator for LucasArts, Lucasfilm and Lucas Learning games. . | Website Donate | - |
Other: Software we like
| Component | Description | Donate / Support | Licenses / Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prism Launcher |  |
Open-source Minecraft Launcher. | Donate |
Other: Licenses & Credits
Things we use or have taken inspiration from or use.
| Item | Description | Source / Donate | Licenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Batocera | Open-source retro OS referenced for ideas. | - | Licenses |
| Lutris | Linux game management platform referenced for inspiration. | - | Licenses |
| Other Trademarks | All trademarks, logos, controller images and brand names referenced in this project are the property of their respective owners. Use is for identification/descriptive purposes only and does not imply any affiliation, sponsorship, or endorsement from the respective holders. | - | Trademark notice (Various) |
| Pugsy's Cheats for MAME | MAME cheat database. | Website | - |
| Steam Deck & Logo | The Steam Deck device and associated logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Valve Corporation. RetroDECK is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Valve Corporation. | - | Trademark notice (Valve Corporation) |
| Zulip | Zulip is an organized team chat app designed for efficient communication. ideas. | Website | Zulip did sponsoring of RetroDECK's Zulip instance for a try out a big thanks to the Zulip Team |