ES-DE Frontend vs RetroHub

ES-DE Frontend browses and launches games from a multi-platform collection and can also run locally installed games and applications. It supports more than 150 game systems and comes configured for a large selection of emulators, game engines, game managers, and gaming services. Its built-in scraper downloads game details and media, including images, videos, and manuals. Users can adjust configuration options and themes, and download additional themes through the built-in theme downloader. The interface supports full controller navigation. Windows, macOS, and Linux editions are free to download and use, fully open source, and may be distributed freely. The Android release is a paid, partially closed-source app, and no price is listed. It is available through Patreon, Samsung Galaxy Store, and Huawei AppGallery. The Android FAQ gives 64-bit Android 10 or later as the basic requirement and says one purchase can be used on all of the buyer’s devices without a subscription or additional costs. Support links include a user guide, FAQs, and Discord.

RetroHub is a free frontend for organizing, displaying, and launching a retro-game library on Windows, macOS, and Linux. A first-time setup wizard helps configure it, and users can import games and settings from supported frontends. The app supports more than 80 systems and more than 50 emulators, while allowing users to add settings for others; it does not include emulators. Game metadata and media can be customized, and the built-in ScreenScraper feature can identify games by file hash or filename and fetch related information and images. ScreenScraper applies hourly and daily API quotas, and scraped media for a large library may take more than 1 GB of disk space. Users can change themes, and theme development can shape the interface and add features. Inputs include keyboard, mouse, controller, and touch; keyboard and controller actions can be remapped. The interface adapts to screen size and aspect ratio and includes a screen-reader option. RetroAchievements is an optional integration. Source code is MIT-licensed, while official builds use GPLv3 due to bundled third-party libraries.