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# Magic64 Could Turn the ModRetro M64 Into a Six-System Console
- URL: https://averagetechnerds.com/magic64-modretro-m64-custom-firmware/
- Published: 2026-10-11T20:46:09.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-11T21:33:43.000Z
- Description: Magic64 is an upcoming community firmware for the ModRetro M64 that promises six systems, including PlayStation. What has been shown, and what is still a claim.
- Author: Victor
- Tags: News, Retro Gaming, Retro consoles

There’s custom firmware coming for the ModRetro M64\. It’s called Magic64, and if it pans out, it puts the M64 above the Analogue. I own a red M64 and two Analogue 3Ds, and I [compared the two](https://averagetechnerds.com/analogue-3d-vs-modretro-m64/) recently. I know Magic64 is a community thing and it isn’t an official ModRetro project. But still, this is exciting to me, and yes, I’ll try the beta.

Bottom line up front

## So what does this mean for the *Average TechNerd*?

Magic64 is a community firmware in development for ModRetro’s M64, from the developer of the ChroMagic firmware for the Chromatic. He has shown a PlayStation core, RetroAchievements and a Chromatic working as a Transfer Pak on the M64, and told Retro Dodo it will run six systems from the SD card, with a release hoped for this month.

For the Average TechNerd, it is exciting and unreleased. Most of the feature list comes from one interview, there is no beta yet, and ModRetro has not said whether custom firmware affects the warranty. If it ships and works, a $229.99 M64 would play far more than a $269.99 Analogue 3D, which runs only Analogue’s own N64 core.

At a glance

What it is

Unofficial replacement firmware for the ModRetro M64, by the developer of ChroMagic

Systems (claimed)

- Game Boy and Game Boy Color, NES, SNES
- Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64, PlayStation

Shown so far

- PlayStation core running
- RetroAchievements
- Chromatic as Transfer Pak and cartridge reader

Release

Hoped for October 2026, per the developer; no beta yet

Still unknown

- Effect on the warranty
- How stable each core is
- Whether it will be open source

## What Magic64 is

Magic64 is a full replacement for the M64’s firmware, written from scratch for both the console’s FPGA and its microcontroller, its developer Nate told [Retro Dodo](https://retrododo.com/magic64-is-an-upcoming-custom-firmware-for-m64-that-emulates-6-different-consoles/?ref=averagetechnerds.com). An FPGA is a chip that can be reconfigured to behave like the original hardware of an old console. Magic64 loads a separate configuration for each system from the M64’s microSD card, using cores from MiSTer, the open-source FPGA project that recreates dozens of consoles.

The plan is six systems at launch: Game Boy and Game Boy Color, NES, SNES, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 64 and the original PlayStation. Nate said he would rather launch with a smaller, quality-tested list than ship buggy cores. PlayStation games would load from the SD card, with memory cards and multi-disc games supported, though owners would need to supply the console’s BIOS. N64 cartridges keep working in the cartridge slot, and Nate said he hopes to release Magic64 “sometime in October” if all goes to plan.

![The back panel of a transparent red ModRetro M64 being held, showing its ports](https://storage.ghost.io/c/b3/23/b323103c-90c0-46a8-9230-7d317a5ebaf3/content/images/2026/09/m64-rear-panel.jpg)

The back of my M64.

## What has actually been shown

Most of that list comes from the interview, so it helps to separate what Nate has shown in public. On X, he has posted a [PlayStation core running](https://x.com/CursedToastSDA/status/2108633541517172973?ref=averagetechnerds.com) on his M64 firmware, [RetroAchievements](https://x.com/CursedToastSDA/status/2107936188745056435?ref=averagetechnerds.com), the free service that adds achievements to classic games, and a [Game Boy Color video preset](https://x.com/CursedToastSDA/status/2107319735721329035?ref=averagetechnerds.com) modelled on the Chromatic’s screen. The NES, SNES and Game Boy Advance cores have not been shown publicly yet, and there is no beta, website or source code to try. Until there is, Nate posts his progress on [his X account](https://x.com/CursedToastSDA?ref=averagetechnerds.com).

## The Chromatic connection

Nate already makes [ChroMagic](https://chromagic.org/?ref=averagetechnerds.com), a free, [open-source](https://github.com/cursedtoast2/ChroMagic?ref=averagetechnerds.com) firmware for ModRetro’s Chromatic handheld that backs up cartridges and their saves to an SD card, released in September. With ChroMagic on a Chromatic connected to the M64, he has shown the handheld working as a [Transfer Pak in Pokémon Stadium](https://x.com/CursedToastSDA/status/2107529776491807129?ref=averagetechnerds.com), and as a reader that plays Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges on the M64\. ModRetro has promised official Transfer Pak support through the Chromatic in a future update, but its [M64 page](https://modretro.com/products/m64?ref=averagetechnerds.com) gives no date.

## Open source, on paper and in practice

ModRetro’s [product page](https://modretro.com/products/m64?ref=averagetechnerds.com) calls the M64 “open-source and mod-friendly” and says its FPGA core and firmware are open source. So far, ModRetro has published the console’s [schematics and case files](https://support.modretro.com/en%5Fus/articles/m64-open-source-files-ByrpukdUGg?ref=averagetechnerds.com), but its [firmware repository](https://github.com/ModRetro/oss-m64-console?ref=averagetechnerds.com) holds only a licence and a note that the software is “coming soon.” In the meantime, the community is building its own: [OM64](https://retrododo.com/m64s-first-fan-made-custom-firmware-om64-is-almost-here/?ref=averagetechnerds.com), another replacement firmware from a different developer, is in testing without an N64 core yet.

The Analogue 3D is the opposite case. Analogue [designs its N64 core](https://www.analogue.co/3d?ref=averagetechnerds.com) in house, and the 3D does not support openFPGA, the platform that lets Analogue’s Pocket run community cores, so it plays N64 cartridges and nothing else. ModRetro has not commented on Magic64 or said whether installing custom firmware affects the M64’s one-year warranty.

## If it pans out

For me, it’s the fact that it’s one box running six systems, and the M64 being open to the community. You have two machines at a similar price, and one of them now becomes extensible. That’s open emulation of six systems in one console, without having to set up MiSTer, which is a pain to configure. The only MiSTer I’ve ever used is Retro Remake’s [SuperStation One](https://www.cnx-software.com/2025/01/29/superstation-one-soc-fpga-based-retro-gaming-console-supports-mister-emulation-playstation-controllers-cd-drive/?ref=averagetechnerds.com), which is technically a MiSTer.

If you’re paying about the same for the M64 and the Analogue, but you can do all this on the M64, then all of a sudden the M64 is simply the better machine. Assuming, you know, all of this actually comes to fruition.

If Magic64 delivers, would it make you pick the M64 over the Analogue 3D? Share which system you would load first.

Based on the developer’s posts on X, Retro Dodo’s interview, and ModRetro’s product and support pages, as of October 11, 2026\. Magic64 is unofficial and unreleased; features may change.