ModRetro
ModRetro is a company developing retro gaming hardware and publishing games, founded by Palmer Luckey, the creator of Oculus VR. Luckey co-founded the ModRetro Forums community in 2009, centered on “portabilizing” old hardware, and reestablished ModRetro as a video game console company in June 2024. Its first product after the relaunch was the Chromatic handheld, which plays original Game Boy games; its second is the M64, a recreation of the Nintendo 64.
Business and product lines
The official store lists three kinds of business:
- Hardware: Chromatic is a cartridge-based retro handheld, covered in the ModRetro Chromatic entry; the M64 console is compatible with original Nintendo 64 cartridges and controllers, and its product page describes HDMI video output at up to 4K.
- Game publishing: the store sells newly developed games on physical cartridges (such as Tetris, Rayman, and Earthworm Jim) plus licensed re-releases (such as the Atari ’90s Rewind Collection), some as 25th-anniversary editions.
- Accessories: the Mod Kit, Link Cable, rechargeable power core, and more; the product page states that Chromatic “was designed with modders in mind.”
Product information should be read from the current store pages at modretro.com.
Discussion in the show
In Weekly #005’s chapter “ModRetro、AI Passport 与 ESP32 改造” (ModRetro, AI Passport, and ESP32 mods), Yang Pan mentions that OpenAI handed every attendee at its developer conference a small console called ModRetro, notes that the brand and product had existed for a while, and says the new twist is developing games with Codex and deploying them directly to the handheld (paragraph in the Chinese transcript). This is a secondhand account of that conference; the giveaway details are not confirmed by any official channel. The store’s own business — hardware, games, and accessories — is a matter of record.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded ModRetro? Does Palmer Luckey own it?
ModRetro was founded by Palmer Luckey: he started the ModRetro Forums community in 2009 and reestablished ModRetro as a console company in June 2024, as covered in Wikipedia’s Palmer Luckey entry and reflected on the official store.
What products does ModRetro make?
The store sells the Chromatic handheld (plays original Game Boy cartridges), the M64 console (compatible with original Nintendo 64 cartridges and controllers), and a large catalog of physical cartridge games and accessories. See the ModRetro Chromatic entry for the handheld’s details.
Where is ModRetro’s official website?
The official website is modretro.com, and its hardware, games, and accessories are sold through the store there.
Sources
- ModRetro official store
- Wikipedia: Palmer Luckey (accessed 2026-10-08)