The ultimate Game Boy is here, and it isn't made by Nintendo

The ModRetro Chromatic is an evolution of Nintendo's Game Boy

Update: Read our ModRetro Chromatic review to find out why this is the best way to play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games… ever!

(Credit: ModRetro)

• 🤩 The ModRetro Chromatic is the ultimate Game Boy

• 👏 It’s a pixel and color-accurate way of enjoying Game Boy and Game Boy Color games

• 😎 It’ll work outdoors thanks to its super-bright IPS LCD

• 📆 It costs $199 and starts shipping this holiday

If you’ve had a hankering for some retro gaming but don’t want to wade through the murky waters of ROMs and emulators, the ModRetro Chromatic might be exactly what you’ve been looking for.

Created by Palmer Luckey, the man behind the Oculus Quest, the ModRetro Chromatic is the ultimate evolution of the Nintendo Game Boy. It features a 2.56-inch IPS pixel-accurate display with a sapphire screen cover that’s optimized to work perfectly in sunlight.

The ModRetro Chromatic can play Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges and features a magnesium-aluminum alloy shell and PBT semi-crystalline polymer D-pad and buttons.

The device can be powered by 3x AA batteries or the custom lithium-ion pack, that’s rechargeable through the console and lasts 24 hours. It also has a 3.5mm headphone jack, a “custom ultra-loud speaker module” and is even backward compatible with the link cable and a USB-C for “lagless” video out.

Luckey says that he doesn’t see the ModRetro Chromatic as “a way to make money”. Instead, he sees it as “a way to make the world’s best tribute to the Game Boy, something that I will be proud of for a very long time.”

The ModRetro Chromatic costs $199 and starts shipping this holiday. Those who preorder will get a free copy of Tetris for Chromatic and it’ll also be available at GameStop.

If you like the look of the handheld, it might be worth buying sooner rather than later. Luckey told The Verge, “I am going to make as many as I need to fulfill preorders. But this thing is too crazy to make forever.”

Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.