Forsaken vs LaunchBox

Forsaken is an open-source emulator frontend that organizes a retro gaming library. It supports more than 65 retro gaming platforms through 159 emulator configurations, with library browsing in Grid, List, or 3D Carousel views. Displays can include box art, screenshots, videos, and fan art. The frontend supports gamepad navigation and keyboard shortcuts, and its download manager tracks queues and progress. Forsaken can automatically detect and download BIOS files, with temporary or permanent storage and smart cleanup options. It is MIT licensed, community-driven, and translated into 14 languages. Listed platforms are Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web, and Windows; Windows and macOS are identified as build-from-source options using Flutter. Forsaken does not distribute ROMs or copyrighted game files, so users must provide their own legally obtained ROMs. The project invites contributions on GitHub.

LaunchBox is a game collection frontend and manager for modern PC games and emulated console games. It can import Steam and GOG games, ROM files, and MS-DOS games, then retrieve box art and metadata from its Games Database along with fan art, screenshots, and logos. Collections can be arranged and filtered by genre, platform, ESRB rating, developer, and publisher, with custom status and source fields. The Windows app supports Windows 10 and higher, with Windows 10 and 11 described as fully supported. LaunchBox for Android is free for collections of 100 games or fewer; it shares the games database, media, and portable XML data with Windows, and Windows data can be exported to Android. Premium adds themes, Big Box mode, gamepad automation, startup and pause screens, and display customization. The Regular Windows license costs $30 as a one-time purchase and includes a year of free updates. The maker says Premium is DRM-free and can be deployed to as many personal devices as desired. Windows data can also be moved by copying the app to another folder or computer.