Half of the games I have installed on my Steam Deck at the moment are retro titles: Zool, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, Thief, and The Settlers. Despite its power and capabilities as a AAA gaming device, the Steam Deck has considerable potential as a retro gaming device way beyond the PC confines.
We’ve already seen how Batocera can be run from an SD card. This goes one further: the GB Operator cartridge reader and companion app (which relies on mGBA as its core emulator) have been deemed “fully compatible” with the Steam Deck.
Developers Epilogue created the reader as a bridge, enabling Nintendo Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges to be loaded through an emulator on a Windows PC. Compatibility has since been expanded to macOS and Linux, and consequently, the Steam Deck (which runs a SteamOS based on Arch Linux).
While you can load up ROMs that others have created, the GB Operator gives you the opportunity not just to play your original Game Boy series carts, but also dump the ROMs. This is a great way to retrieve save games, too. The GB Operator also supports writing to blank cartridges, ideal for homebrew developers. It can even detect counterfeit cartridges.
Meanwhile, it seems that ambitions don’t stop with playing Game Boy carts on the Steam Deck.
Until that happens, the GB Operator is available direct from Epilogue’s website with a listed price of $49.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through those links. This comes at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!
Christian Cawley is the founder and editor of GamingRetro.co.uk, a website dedicated to classic and retro gaming. With over 20 years of experience writing for technology and gaming publications, he brings considerable expertise and a lifelong passion for interactive entertainment, particularly games from the 8-bit and 16-bit eras.
Christian has written for leading outlets including TechRadar, Computer Weekly, Linux Format, and MakeUseOf, where he also served as Deputy Editor.
When he’s not exploring vintage consoles or retro PCs, Christian enjoys building with LEGO, playing cigar box guitar, and experimenting in the kitchen.
