Batocera 44, codenamed “Malachite”, is shaping up to be a particularly interesting update for retro handhelds, ARM-based systems and compact living-room builds. The work-in-progress changelog is already substantial—but this is still a preview, not a final release review.
Why Batocera 44 looks significant
Batocera has always supported more than desktop PCs, but Malachite pushes harder on the idea that one controller-friendly operating system can span handhelds, single-board computers and conventional x86 hardware. The most interesting work is not simply a longer list of emulators: it is the effort to bring more capable ARM devices closer to the experience previously reserved for PCs.
The preview was brought to wider attention by Retro Handhelds. We checked its highlights against Batocera’s live development changelog, which has continued to evolve since that article was prepared.
A much wider handheld list
The current development notes include initial support for a varied group of devices:
- Anbernic RG-DS, RG-SP and RG Vita Pro
- Anbernic RG40XX-H and RG40XX-V second-panel variants
- AYN Odin and Odin 3
- Mangmi Air X
- Retroid Pocket Nova
- Odroid M2 and Radxa Rock-5T
“Initial support” is an important phrase. It means a device has entered the supported build process; it does not guarantee that every feature, sleep mode, analogue control, display panel or power-management edge case is finished. Handheld owners should read device-specific notes before replacing a working installation.
ARM hardware is getting more ambitious
Box64 on AArch64
Box64 provides an x86_64 userland translation route on 64-bit ARM hardware. It is an enabling layer rather than a promise that every PC application will run, but it expands what developers can realistically bring to capable handhelds and boards.
More high-end emulators
Cemu, PCSX2, Vita3K and BigPEmu are listed for selected capable ARM devices. Performance will vary sharply by processor, graphics driver, cooling and emulator maturity.
Xenia-Edge
The changelog adds Xenia-Edge for x86_64 and selected AArch64 devices, extending Xbox 360 experimentation without implying universal compatibility.
Better foundations
Several RK3588 systems move to a mainline Linux kernel, while updated Mesa graphics stacks and newer device kernels should make future maintenance less dependent on old vendor software.
The emulator changes worth noticing
Malachite also reshuffles some of the software underneath the front end:
- ShadPS4: Batocera is moving from the discontinued ShadPS4 Plus fork back to the standard ShadPS4 project.
- Play!: the emulator and its Libretro variant are being removed as PlayStation 2 options. PCSX2 remains the main route, with PCSX2x6 added for Namco System 2x6 arcade hardware.
- NanoBoyAdvance: appears as an alternative Game Boy Advance emulator.
- DraStic: returns for AArch64 devices.
- Libretro Azahar: adds another route for compatible Nintendo 3DS software.
- Atari 5200: the problematic Libretro-A5200 core is removed in favour of the Atari800 core.
Newer does not automatically mean faster on every device. Batocera’s strength is its curated integration, but the correct emulator can still depend on the game, hardware and accuracy you need.
Raspberry Pi 4 and small-computer improvements
Raspberry Pi 4 is moving to the LabWC Wayland compositor and a newer Mesa3D graphics stack. Khadas VIM4 receives similar compositor work and a move to the Panfrost graphics driver. These are infrastructure changes rather than flashy menu features, but they matter: modern display handling and maintained graphics drivers can improve compatibility long after a release lands.
A new batocera-temp helper is also listed for CPU, GPU and battery temperature reporting. That should be useful on compact systems where sustained emulation performance depends on thermals rather than headline processor specifications.
Quality-of-life changes
| Change | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Fast-forward toggle in EmulationStation | Makes a common handheld function easier to configure without digging into individual emulator menus. |
| Controller LED modes | Adds Rainbow and Pulse Chroma options on supported hardware, alongside wider Legion Go LED control. |
| Unicode ID3 display | Improves music metadata for collections using non-Latin characters. |
| Better boot-media scaling | Logos and videos should adapt more cleanly to the primary display. |
| MangoHud scaling | The performance overlay can scale its size to the screen resolution—useful on very small or very dense handheld displays. |
| Internal installation on selected Qualcomm devices | Some supported handhelds can install Batocera alongside Android internally, subject to device-specific instructions and backup precautions. |
Upgrade notes you should not skip
traider1 and traider2 folders will need to move to the combined traider folder following Batocera’s supplied information file.
Core removals also matter if a carefully tuned setup depends on one particular emulator. Libretro-PUAE2021 is being removed, and the Atari 5200 default changes. The move from Play! to other solutions may affect save paths or per-game settings. Before any major upgrade:
- Back up the complete
/userdataarea. - Save controller and per-game configuration notes.
- Read the final v44 release notes, not only an early preview.
- Test the new image on separate media before changing a working cabinet or handheld.
Should you install a development build?
For a spare SD card or test machine, a beta can be an interesting way to help identify device-specific problems. For a main arcade cabinet, family console or carefully curated handheld, wait for the stable image. Development changelogs describe work in progress; entries can be added, renamed, delayed or removed.
When Batocera 44 is formally released, the most useful question will not be “how many systems were added?” It will be whether the devices and games you actually use are more reliable. We will revisit Malachite once a final stable build and release notes are available.
Sources checked 23 August 2026: Batocera’s official live changelog and Retro Handhelds’ Batocera 44 preview.