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It’s time for MAME 0.286, bringing you more adventures in emulation. This month, we’ve added support for SDL3, which will be used by default when building on macOS (the default is still SDL2 on other UNIX-like platforms). You can choose SDL2 or SDL3 by adding OSD=sdl or OSD=sdl3 to your build options, respectively. There may be some teething issues, so if you build against SDL3 and things break, let us know.

In arcade emulation, we’ve added a rare early version of Mario Bros. (which may have served as the basis for the Apple II port), the original Tecmo release of Back Fire, and the elusive Monkichicchi no Fuwafuwa Puzzle. Outside arcades, dozens of systems have seen updates over the past few weeks, including the ZX Spectrum and its descendants, the Apple II family and clones, the Epson QX-10, the Canon X-07, and the Sharp MZ-80B. There are also some nice software list updates, including the latest prototype cartridge dumps and plenty of homebrew software.

If you want to read about everything that changed this month, check out the whatsnew.txt file. As always, the source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages are available from our download page.

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Are you ready for the first MAME release of 2026? MAME 0.285 is out now! We’ve added support for an early, unreleased version of Atari’s Relief Pitcher running on their System 1 platform. Moon Raker, a Nichibutsu shooter from the late ’70s, has also been found and emulated. Sega’s Waku Waku series has been further filled out with the addition of Waku Waku Jumbo. And for something completely different, Apple’s first computer built around the WIMP paradigm, the Lisa, is starting the year in substantially better shape.

If you play arcade games that utilised lightguns, you’ll no doubt be aware that pulling the trigger while aiming the gun away from the screen was a common way to reload. You may also be aware that MAME had an option to make this a bit easier if you’re using a lightgun to play. That option has been removed, with a new plugin taking its place. The great news is that the plugin works even if you aren’t using a lightgun. That’s right, you can now assign a button to reload when you’re playing Virtua Cop or Lethal Enforcers with a keyboard, mouse or trackball. Check the plugin documentation for more details.

The Hanimex Pencil II computer has had a bit of an overhaul, which should make more software usable. A few more of the many BBC Micro peripherals have been emulated. Other improvements this month include better Apple IIgs periodic interrupt emulation, another working Apple II clone from behind the Iron Curtain, better representation of base Grid Compass hardware configurations, and better default sound routing for people using Apple notebook computers.

As always, you can read about everything that changed this month in the whatsnew.txt file, and the source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages are linked from our download page.

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MAME 0.284 is ready just in time for the end of the year! Two interesting arcade prototypes have turned up this month. One is Saurian Front, an early version of what became Strike Force, developed at Williams before they acquired the Midway name. The other is a completely unreleased Atari game called Jammin’ that runs on Donkey Kong hardware. There are a few more Sega Model 2 fixes this month, helping Virtua Cop 2 in particular.

The Brainchild PLS-1000, a hand-held educational device from the ’90s that you may not even have heard of, is now emulated. You can now use various replacement keyboards for early Apple II computers, some of which had advanced features like macro recording. There were some big software list updates this month for quite a few computers. The floptool disk image utility included with MAME has improved usability. You can even simulate receiving a Sega Channel broadcast on your emulated Sega Genesis.

Of course, there’s far more in this release than we can talk about here, and you can read all about it in the whatsnew.txt file. The source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages are linked from our download page. All the best in the new year from MAMEdev!

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With the end of the year barely more than a month away, it’s time for MAME 0.283! As you may be anticipating, there are even more Sega Model 2 fixes this month. Trilinear luma filtering should be working now, and some glitches in tilemap layers are fixed. Microtexturing, used to good effect in The House of the Dead, is emulated for the first time. Some of the tilemap layer fixes have spilled across into Sega System 24 as well.

Several Ensoniq synthesisers have been promoted to working in this release. The Sequential Circuits Six-Trak analog synthesiser has also been promoted to working, with improvements there benefiting the related Bally/Sente 6VB sound board. There’s been quite a bit of work on NEC computers this month, and there are some new software lists for Sharp home computers. MAME now emulates all supported (and some unsupported) video modes on the IBM PCjr.

To find out about everything else that’s happened in MAME development this month, you’ll have to read the whatsnew.txt file. As always, you can get the source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page.

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Today, we have a very spooky surprise… Oh wait, no we don’t. But what we do have is MAME 0.282! If you want to get into a haunted mood, you might want to try playing Beast Busters: Second Nightmare, because Hyper Neo Geo 64 sound is way better than it was a month ago. Just a friendly reminder, MAME still runs plenty of other ghastly classics, like Laser Ghost, Splatter House, Monster Bash, Haunted Castle and Ghouls’n Ghosts. And speaking of sound, XaviX sound emulation has just had a major overhaul, so you might want to give some e-kara cartridges another listen. Also, if you’re musically inclined, remember to keep an eye on MAME’s synthesiser emulation, because it just keeps getting better!

Sega Model 2 emulation is noticeably better again, with improved graphics and a number of logic bugs fixed. Speaking of 3D graphics, the severe graphical issues plaguing ARM users playing Namco System 22 games have been corrected. Apple II users can enjoy more accurate emulation for software that pokes dark corners of the hardware, including Zip Chip accelerators, interrupts and model-specific functionality. There’s also new D13 disk image write support for people using Apple DOS 3.1 and 3.2 disks. There’s been steady progress on emulating more features of the graphics chip used by the Minitel 2 terminal.

That’s all we’re going to talk about here, but as always, there’s lots more to enjoy, including better Namco System 23 performance, an overhaul for Mega Drive cartridges, plenty of software list additions, more features for the floppy disk image utilities and some additional functionality exposed to Lua scripts. You can read all about it in the whatsnew.txt file, or get the source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages from the download page.

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After what felt like a few short weeks, it’s time for MAME 0.281! First of all, with the proliferation of ARM-based notebook computers, we’re going to try offering binary packages for people running 64-bit ARM versions of Windows 10 or later. Please be aware that most MAME developers are still using x86-64 systems, so you may encounter issues specific to ARM systems (this goes for people running MAME on Apple M series CPUs and ARM-based Linux systems as well). When reporting issues, remember to specify the operating system and CPU family. And speaking of ARM CPUs, we’ve fixed a few lurking bugs in the 64-bit ARM recompiler back-end and improved performance a bit more. Emulated systems with Hitachi SuperH and Hyperstone E1 CPUs should benefit.

There are some big software list updates this month, with lots of original floppy and cassette dumps and modern homebrew releases added. More Sony NEWS workstations are now running. If you want to play with them, be aware that you’ll need to access them over an emulated network interface, as video output isn’t working. IBM RTPC emulation is still progressing steadily as well. There are some emulation improvements to the sound chip used by Akai MPC samplers as well as the SNK Hyper Neo Geo 64, although it’s still preliminary.

As always, you can read about everything that’s changed this month in the whatsnew.txt file, and the source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages are available from the download page.

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It’s been a month, so it must be time for MAME 0.280 to be released! One interesting addition this month is the very rare 1986 arcade game 119 from Coreland and Sega (the game is named after the ambulance/fire emergency telephone number used in Japan). If you’ve been following along with the work on Namco System 23 emulation, you can now see several more video hardware features emulated. Sound issues in Konami’s Golfing Greats have finally been fixed properly.

You’ll also find improved Acorn BBC Micro emulation, a few more working TV games and handheld multi-game systems, and quite a few more playable video gambling systems. Improvements to Mega Drive emulation fix issues with some of the more sensitive games on the system. A number of graphical glitches plaguing arcade games have been solved, too.

You can read about everything we’ve been working on over the past few weeks in the whatsnew.txt file. As always, source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages are available from the download page.

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