How to Install RetroArch on Xbox One or Series X/S

Microsoft’s Xbox console is essentially a PC, which means it’s relatively easy to download and install not only games but apps and other tools. Retro-game enthusiasts will be pleased to know that developers have made RetroArch available to install on modern Xbox consoles, so not only can you play the latest and greatest AAA titles on your Xbox, but you’ll be able to put on your rose-colored glasses and take a trip down memory lane with tons of emulators. The best part is that there is no modification of your Xbox necessary – RetroArch can be downloaded and installed to your stock, vanilla Xbox.

Disclaimer

Earlier this year, Microsoft cracked down on software emulation on the Xbox family of consoles. Even if you previously installed RetroArch on your Xbox console, you are no longer able to open the app. That said, it is still possible to run emulators on your Xbox One or Series S/X – you just need to do so in Developer Mode.

What is Developer Mode?

All Xbox consoles have two operating modes, Retail and Developer (Dev) Mode. Dev Mode allows users to test and develop software. As such, Dev Mode will allow you to run emulators on your Xbox. The process of enabling Developer (Dev) Mode is the same on both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series S/X. Fortunately, it is relatively easy to do. However, there are a few things you need to know before you enable it.

First off, you will not be able to run retail games or apps in the Dev Mode. That said, you can easily switch between Dev Mode and Retail Mode, which will enable you to play and run standard games and apps. The only troublesome thing is that you have to reboot the console every time you want to switch between the two modes.

Secondly, Dev Mode is not free. The app that switches Dev Mode on is free to download, however, actually turning it on requires you to pay a one-time developer’s fee of approximately $20. The actual price will vary based on what country or region you are in.

How to Enable Developer Mode on Your Xbox

Note: You will need a PC connected to the Internet to enable the Dev Mode on your console.

Launch the Microsoft Store and search for “Xbox Dev Mode”. Install it.

After the installation, launch it. You’ll be greeted with a few screens of information that you might want to take note of. Eventually, you’ll land on a screen called “Activate Console” with a unique alpha-numeric code and a website URL. At this point, shift over to your PC.

To proceed, you need to register for a developer account. Click the “Sign Up” button and sign in to your Microsoft account. These accounts cost approximately USD 20. Fill in all of the required fields and make the payment to complete the registration.

Next, go back to your Xbox and plug in the URL displayed on the “Activate Console” screen into your PC’s browser. This will bring you to a page where you need to sign in to your Microsoft account. Make sure you use the same Microsoft account that you used in the previous step. Once logged in, you’ll be brought to the Microsoft Partner Center.

Next, go to https://partner.microsoft.com/xboxconfig/devices and enter the activation code displayed on your Xbox. Finally, click “Agree and Activate”. At this point, the page should reload and you should see your Xbox console listed. Your Xbox will also display a screen notifying you that the console has been activated.

Once the activation has been completed, go back to your Xbox and launch the Dev Mode app. Click “Switch & restart” to enter Developer mode. Your Xbox will shut down and reboot automatically, although this will take longer than usual. To go back to Retail Mode, open Dev Home. Under “Quick Actions” select “Leave Dev Mode”. Your Xbox will then restart and boot back into Retail Mode.

Install Retroarch on Your Xbox

Now that Microsoft has cracked down on emulators in retail mode, installing Retroarch on your Xbox console requires a little bit of elbow grease. It’s not super difficult, but you will need a PC that is connected to the same network as your Xbox console.

1. On your PC, open your browser and navigate to the RetroArch download page. RetroArch is available to install on a wide variety of platforms including Windows PCs.
2. Scroll down until you spot the Xbox Series / One download options. Download the Retroarch installer and the Visual Runtime Libraries UWP file.
3. Back on your Xbox console, open the Xbox Device Portal in Dev Mode. In the bottom left-hand corner of this screen, there is an IP address. It will look something like this 192.xxx.xxx.xx with the “x’s” different numbers. Each IP address is unique, so make sure you have the exact number.

4. Pop over to your PC. Put the IP address from the previous step into your browser. This will take you to the Dev Portal. This allows you to transfer the Retroarch files you downloaded to your PC over to your Xbox console.

If you have any difficulty, RetroArch has created a handy step-by-step video on how to get Retroarch up and running on your Xbox console.

Set Up RetroArch

Before you start playing your favorite retro titles on your Xbox console, you’ll need to do a bit of configuring within RetroArch to ensure that you have the best experience possible.

In RetroArch’s main menu, scroll down to “Online Updater.”

On the following screen, you’ll see a bunch of update options. It isn’t necessary to run all of these, but we recommend selecting “Update Core Info Files”, “Update Assets” and “Update Controller Profiles” before you proceed. Updating these will make sure that you’re running the latest versions of all the emulators and enjoy an overall smoother experience.

It will take RetroArch a moment to download, extract and apply each file, so just be patient.

Download RetroArch Cores

RetroArch refers to emulators as “cores,” so from here on out that’s how we’ll refer to them. There are a bunch of cores available for a variety of game consoles. We recommend downloading several cores to see which ones you prefer. To download cores, select “Load Core.” The next screen will display the full list of available cores. Simply select the ones you want to begin downloading them.

Download Core System Files

Scroll up to the top of the page and select “Core System Files Downloader” to see a bunch of ZIP files that correspond with specific consoles (e.g. PSP, Gamecube). Selecting one will download the BIOS file for that system. It’s not entirely necessary, but having the BIOS file can result in better emulation performance.

Set Up the Correct Directories

Most of the time all of the proper directories are selected automatically. However, there are rare instances in which RetroArch has not selected the right ones. Unfortunately, if that’s the case you won’t be able to launch any emulators or play any games. To double-check that RetroArch has chosen the right paths:

1. Select “Settings” from the menu on the left.
2. In the main window on the right, scroll down to “Directory” and select it. On the subsequent screen, you’ll see a bunch of directories (e.g. C:).

3. Find the directory that has a string of characters after it; this is the RetroArch folder installed on your Xbox console and is usually the last directory listed.
4. Select this directory, scroll down and select “Configs -> Use This Directory.”
5. Go back and select “Core info,” select the RetroArch directory, then select “Info -> Use This Directory.”
6. Go back again and choose “Databases,” select the RetroArch directory, then “Database -> Use This Directory.”

Set a Hotkey on Your Xbox Controller

There is one more thing you need to do before you can play your favorite retro games – assign a hotkey. You don’t need to map any buttons; all of the buttons are assigned automatically and accurately.

A hotkey is a button or combination of buttons on your Xbox controller that will exit the game you are playing and bring you back to the main menu of RetroArch. Without a hotkey enabled, you’d have to quit RetroArch and relaunch it from your Xbox’s dashboard every time you wanted to start a new game.

To set a hotkey:

1. Highlight “Settings” from the menu on the left, then scroll down and select “Input.”

2. On the following page, scroll down and select “Hotkeys”.

3. Select “Menu Toggle Controller Combo” to go to the page where you can assign your hotkey combination.

4. Choose whichever combination you think will work best from the options available. We prefer the combination Start + Select, as that is the default hotkey combo for RetroPie.

Prepare Your USB Flash Drive

At this stage, switch over to your Windows PC and take the following steps to prepare your USB flash drive.

1. Plug your flash drive into your computer.
2. When your USB shows up in the left-hand column of the File Explorer window, right-click it and select “Format” from the drop-down menu.

3. This will open a new window that will enable you to change a bunch of parameters, but there’s only one you need to pay attention to. Under “File system” click the drop-down menu and select “NTFS.”

4. Rename your drive in the box labeled “Volume label” if you like. We suggest something like “Xbox” or “Roms”.
5. Click the “Start” button and your USB flash drive will be formatted and ready to go.

Transfer Your ROMs

1. Open your newly formatted USB flash drive and create a folder called “GAMES” or “ROMS”.
2. Inside that folder, create subfolders for each console you want to emulate on your Xbox. For example, if you plan on running Super Nintendo games, create a folder called “SNES.”

3. Once you have created all of your console-specific subfolders, begin transferring your ROM files. It goes without saying but you’ll want to put your ROMs into the console subfolder that they are associated with. Therefore, Gameboy Advance ROMs would be placed into the GBA folder and so on.

Prep Your USB for the Xbox

Now that your ROMs are on your USB, there’s one more thing you need to do before plugging it into your Xbox console – navigate some menus of technobabble to ensure that your Xbox will be able to read your USB and play your ROMs.

1. In the File Explorer window, locate the USB drive in the column on the left-hand side and right-click it, then click on “Properties” in the context menu.

2. In the new window that appears, click on the tab labeled “Security.” Next, click on the button labeled “Advanced.”

3. This will open up an entirely new window. Here, click on the “Add” button.

4. Click on “Select a principal.”

5. In the new window that opens, click on the “Advanced” button. This will launch yet another window.

6. Click the button on the right labeled “Find Now.” In the search results field, find and double-click on “ALL APPLICATION PACKAGES.”

7. On the next window that appears, click “OK” to close that window. You should now see the “Permission Entry for Your_USB” window. Click the “OK” button.

8. You should now see a window labeled “Advanced Security Settings for Your_USB.” In the “Permission entries” section, ensure that you see “ALL APPLICATIONS PACKAGES” under the “Principal” column and “Read & execute” under the “Access” column.
9. Put a check in the box labeled “Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object” at the bottom of this window. Finally, click “OK.”

10. A few other windows will pop up warning you of security issues and asking if you want to proceed. Select “Yes” and “Continue” to finish up.
11. At this point, your USB is ready to be ejected from your PC and plugged into your Xbox console.

Launch RetroArch on Your Xbox

1. With your USB plugged into your Xbox, fire up RetroArch.
2. On the main menu, select “Load Content.”

3. You’ll be brought to a new page that displays a bunch of directories. Scroll down to drive “D” and select it, as this is where you will find the contents of your USB.

4. You should now see a folder called “GAMES” or “ROMS” depending on which you opted for. Select that and you should now see the console-specific subfolders that you created earlier.
5. Select one of the subfolders to display all of your ROMs for that console.
6. Select a ROM to pick the core you want to use to run that game. There are usually a few to choose from, so feel free to experiment.

7. That’s it. You are now running emulators and retro games on your Xbox console. Have fun with them!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a difference in performance running RetroArch on my Xbox One versus my Xbox Series S/X?

The short answer is yes. You can follow the steps above to get RetroArch up and running on the older generation of Xbox. That being said, you will see a decrease in performance. The Xbox Series S/X has beefier components under the hood compared to the Xbox One/One X. This means that you’ll see better performance with the newer console, particularly with emulators that demand more grunt.

Based on our testing, the Xbox One does fine with 8-bit and 16-bit consoles like the Super Nintendo and the Gameboy Advance, while the performance of 32-bit consoles like the PlayStation 1 can be hit or miss. Therefore, if you’re aiming to emulate a more powerful console like the Gamecube, you’ll see the best performance from an Xbox Series S/X.

What are the best cores to use?

This is a tough question simply because RetroArch enthusiasts will have different preferences for any number of reasons. There are many forum discussions dedicated to this very question, so feel free to do your own research. However, if you want to start playing as quickly as possible, we have a few suggestions for some of the more popular consoles.

• Nintendo Entertainment System – Mesen
• Gameboy, Gameboy Color, Gameboy Advance – mGBA
• Super Nintendo – SNES9X or bSNES
• Sega Master System, Genesis/Mega Drive, 32x, Sega CD – Genesis Plus GX
• Sony PlayStation – DuckStation
• Nintendo 64 – Mupen64Plus

Do I need BIOS files for the emulators?

BIOS files enable your ROMs to run more accurately. In most cases, you do not need to provide them to play a game, but some emulators do require them. For legal reasons, we can’t tell you how to get your hands on BIOS files. However, if you have them, you can create a folder called “bios” on your USB and chuck them in there. Then you can point the emulator within RetroArch that requires a BIOS file to the necessary file on your USB.

Image credit: Unsplash & Wikimedia Commons