Dolphin, a popular video game emulator for Wii and GameCube games, is currently set to hit Steam Early Access later this year.
The emulation software’s Steam store page went live today. Although the page’s software description can’t directly name Nintendo’s consoles, Dolphin Emulator’s Steam description boasts about how it can play “classics from the big N’s cube-shaped and motion-controlled consoles” in 4K with modern controller support, hacked widescreen and HD texture packs, better frame rates, local multiplayer, save states, slow motion, and turbo button presses.
It also reiterates that Dolphin itself doesn’t come with or pirate any Nintendo games, instead positioning itself as a “tool to run legally obtained copies of these games” after someone has converted them into a compatible format. It’ll certainly be interesting to see if that framing is good enough to prevent Nintendo from taking Dolphin Emulator off Steam.
When Dolphin Emulator is added to Steam in the second quarter of 2023, it’ll be free, but also in early access. Its volunteer developers are aiming to exit early access by the end of 2023 after adding “better Steam integration and a more streamlined UI for Steam Deck users.” Valve’s Steam Deck handheld has already proven itself to be a haven for video game emulation, and Dolphin Emulator being available on Steam will only make that process even easier. While most GameCube and Wii games aren’t available on Switch, the company has long been against emulation of its titles. As such, we’ll definitely be keeping an eye on this to see if Dolphin Emulator makes actually launhes on Steam.
Dolphin Emulator will be released on Steam in the second quarter of 2023.
