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Portable Retro Console & Indie Game SDK

Core8Bit is a handheld you build yourself and a platform to make games for it. Write in Lua or C, test in the emulator, and run it on the console.

Create account Start building
  • STM32H743 at 480 MHz
  • 480×272 colour screen
  • 32 MB SDRAM
  • ESP32 Wi‑Fi
The Core8Bit handheld at an angle: black faceplate, cream body, orange buttons, two thumbsticks

One handheld. Three ways in.

  • Play

    Pair your console with your account. When the store opens, games you add will arrive on it the next time it connects.

  • Make

    A Lua SDK with a Playdate-compatible API, native C/C++ plugins, and a desktop emulator that runs the same builds.

  • Build

    A board, a 3D-printed body and a faceplate you assemble yourself, running firmware you can flash yourself.

Store and Greenlight are coming

The store will carry small games made for this screen, each one tested on real hardware. Greenlight is where new games ask for a place in it, and only owners of a paired console can vote.

  1. Pair your consoleEnter the code shown on its screen.
  2. Vote for projectsWhen Greenlight opens.
  3. Play the releaseGreenlit games land in the store.
Create an account

Nothing to show yet

No games are listed until the store opens. We won't fill this space with placeholders.

Your first game fits on one screen

If you have made something for Playdate, most of your Lua runs as is. When you need speed, drop into C/C++ with the plugin SDK.

  • Lua SDK

    Graphics, sprites, sound, input and saves.

  • Emulator

    Runs the same builds on your computer while you work.

Create a developer account
main.lua
local gfx = c8b.graphics
local x = 232

function c8b.update()
    if c8b.buttonIsPressed(c8b.kButtonRight) then
        x = x + 2
    end
    gfx.clear()
    gfx.drawText("Hello Core8Bit!", 10, 10)
    gfx.fillRect(x, 128, 16, 16)
end

Build it on your desk

Core8Bit is a kit, not a sealed box: a board, a 3D-printed body and a faceplate you put together yourself.

Processor
STM32H743, Cortex-M7 at 480 MHz
Memory
32 MB SDRAM, 16 MB QSPI flash
Screen
480 × 272, RGB565
Wireless
ESP32 Wi‑Fi co-processor
Storage
microSD
A bronze Core8Bit faceplate on its own, with cut-outs for the screen, buttons and sticks An early open prototype: cream printed body, orange buttons, exposed joystick boards
Left: a bronze faceplate, ready for parts. Right: an early prototype with the joystick boards still exposed.

Roadmap

Plans, not promises. Dates after "Now" are targets.

  1. Done
    Lua SDK and emulatorPlaydate-compatible API, desktop emulator.
  2. Now
    Accounts and console pairingSign up, pair a console, developer accounts.
  3. Planned
    Cartridges and signingOne-file signed games, developer keys.
  4. Planned
    Store and GreenlightLibrary sync to the console, voting by owners.
  5. Planned
    Local multiplayerTwo consoles over Wi‑Fi, peer to peer.