LaunchBox icon

LaunchBox

LaunchBox is a frontend and launcher for emulators and PC games. It allows you to easily organize and launch your games while providing a unified interface for all your emulators. LaunchBox automatically downloads metadata like descriptions, images, and videos for your games.

What is LaunchBox?

LaunchBox is a customizable frontend and launcher for emulators and PC games. It provides a unified interface to help you easily organize and launch all your games in one place.

Some key features of LaunchBox include:

  • Automatic game importing and metadata lookup - LaunchBox can automatically import your games from emulators and Steam, GOG, Origin etc. It will also download descriptions, box art, screenshots and videos from online databases.
  • Customizable interface - Everything from the theme to the layout to individual metadata for games can be customized.
  • Controller support - LaunchBox works well with Xbox and other PC gamepads out of the box.
  • Big Box mode - An immersive fullscreen interface optimized for TVs and home theater PCs.
  • Parental controls - Limit games based on ESRB ratings.
  • Platform emulators - Supports a wide range of console and arcade emulators like MAME, RetroArch and much more.

LaunchBox Premium unlocks additional features like sets for grouping games, favorites, play time tracking, and online multiplayer. It's a good option for power users who want to take their front end to the next level.

The Best LaunchBox Alternatives

Top Apps like LaunchBox

Playnite, Arc Browser, Lutris, RetroArch, EmulationStation, Lakka, RetroBat, RomStation, D-Fend Reloaded, Daijisho, HyperSpin, Happy Chick, QuickPlay, Spark Console, RetroFE, GameEx, RetriX, GameHub, Pegasus, Maximus Arcade, RESET Collection (Emulator Frontend), BizHawk, D-Box, DBGL, Metropolis Launcher, Aurora Game Hub, Gelide, DOSBox Launcher, GR-lida are some alternatives to LaunchBox.

Playnite

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Arc Browser

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Lutris

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RetroArch

RetroArch is an open-source, cross-platform frontend for emulators, game engines, video games, media players and other applications. It's designed to be fast, lightweight, customizable and extensible.Some key features of RetroArch include:Supports many emulators and video game console cores for systems like NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PS1, etc.Advanced...

EmulationStation

EmulationStation is an open source graphical frontend for emulators designed to organize and view game console libraries. It works with emulators like RetroArch, OpenEmu, standalone emulators, and more to provide a unified visual interface to browse, select, and launch games from multiple systems including NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, PlayStation, and...

Lakka

Lakka is a lightweight Linux distribution that is specifically designed to turn a computer into a full-fledged emulation console for classic video game systems. Based on RetroArch and the Libretro API, Lakka makes setting up emulators and playing classic games simple and user-friendly.One of the key advantages of Lakka...

RetroBat

RetroBat is an open-source, cross-platform application for emulating retro video game consoles and platforms. Its goal is to preserve classic games and systems by accurately emulating their hardware and software so that they can be played on modern computers and devices.Some key features of RetroBat include:Supports a wide...

RomStation

RomStation is an open-source, customizable emulator frontend for managing collections of ROM files and launching emulators. It supports a wide range of popular emulators for systems like Arcade, NES, SNES, Genesis, Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and more.Some key features of RomStation include:Intuitive GUI for browsing ROMs by system, genre, year...

D-Fend Reloaded

D-Fend Reloaded is an open-source graphical frontend for DOSBox, designed to make playing old DOS games easier. It is more user-friendly alternative to setting up DOSBox from a command line. D-Fend handles complex configuration settings, allows auto-detecting games, stores favorite games and settings profiles, and automates tasks like mounting drives...

Daijisho

Daijisho is a feature-rich Japanese dictionary and study tool for Windows. It is completely free and open-source. Daijisho allows you to lookup Japanese words and kanji with detailed definitions, example sentences, pronunciation recordings, stroke order diagrams, conjugation tables, and more.Some of the key features of Daijisho include:Lookup for...

HyperSpin

HyperSpin is an open source graphical frontend for launching emulators and organizing your game collections. It aims to provide an attractive and visually pleasing interface to showcase your games and make them easy to launch.Some key features of HyperSpin include:Supports a wide range of gaming emulators like MAME...

Happy Chick

Happy Chick is a feature-packed video game emulator that enables users to play classic games from multiple retro gaming consoles on modern platforms. Originally launched in 2014 for Android devices, Happy Chick has expanded support to also include Windows PCs, iOS devices, and Mac computers.At its core, Happy Chick is...

QuickPlay

QuickPlay is a free, open-source media player for Windows designed to provide smooth and easy media playback. Despite its simple and lightweight interface, it delivers powerful performance and supports a wide range of media formats.Key features of QuickPlay include:Plays all common audio formats like MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC...

Spark Console

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RetroFE

RetroFE is an open source frontend for emulators and game engines. It allows you to easily access and launch various emulators and games from one unified interface.Some key features of RetroFE include:Supports a wide range of emulators like MAME, FCEUX, SNES9X, Genesis Plus GX, etc.Advanced playlist...

GameEx

GameEx is a versatile video game manager that allows you to organize, launch, and emulate various gaming libraries spanning multitudes of systems. As a frontend, it provides a unified interface to browse, search, and play games from console, handheld, arcade, and computer platforms.Key features include:Supports cataloging games from...

RetriX

RetriX is an open-source and cross-platform emulator that allows you to play classic games from vintage home computers, gaming consoles, and arcade machines on modern operating systems like Windows, MacOS, and Linux.Unlike closed-source commercial emulators, RetriX is completely free to download and use. It emulates systems like the Commodore...

GameHub

GameHub is an open source video game library manager and launcher for Windows. It aims to be an all-in-one solution for managing and playing PC games.Some key features of GameHub include:Automatic detection of locally installed gamesDownloading of box art, screenshots, metadata from online databasesCustom tags and virtual categories...

Pegasus

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Maximus Arcade

Maximus Arcade is a software designed to help you build and manage your own personal arcade on a Windows PC. It acts as a front-end and launcher for game emulator software like MAME, allowing you to easily organize, browse, and launch your game ROMs with an attractive and intuitive user...

RESET Collection (Emulator Frontend)

RESET Collection is an open source frontend for video game console emulators. It allows you to easily organize, launch, and manage your game ROMs and emulators from one unified interface.Some key features of RESET Collection include:Attractive and customizable themes - Choose from various themes or create your own...

BizHawk

BizHawk is a multi-system emulator written in C# that supports a wide range of retro game consoles and arcade machines. Some of the systems it can emulate include:Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)Nintendo 64Game Boy, Game Boy ColorSega Genesis/Mega DriveSony PlayStationArcade machines using various...

D-Box

D-Box is a high-end home theater audio system that provides an immersive and realistic cinematic audio experience using motion feedback technology. It works by analyzing low frequency audio signals from movies, music, and games, and uses integrated motors and motion controllers to move the speakers and seating in sync with...

DBGL

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Metropolis Launcher

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Aurora Game Hub

Aurora Game Hub is an open-source video game launcher and management application designed to give users access to all their games from different platforms in one convenient hub. It allows users to link accounts from services like Steam, Epic Games, Origin, Uplay, GOG Galaxy, emulator platforms, and more to access...

Gelide

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DOSBox Launcher

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GR-lida

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