Are you ready for the first MAME release of 2026? MAME 0.285 is out now! We’ve added support for an early, unreleased version of Atari’s Relief Pitcher running on their System 1 platform. Moon Raker, a Nichibutsu shooter from the late ’70s, has also been found and emulated. Sega’s Waku Waku series has been further filled out with the addition of Waku Waku Jumbo. And for something completely different, Apple’s first computer built around the WIMP paradigm, the Lisa, is starting the year in substantially better shape.
If you play arcade games that utilised lightguns, you’ll no doubt be aware that pulling the trigger while aiming the gun away from the screen was a common way to reload. You may also be aware that MAME had an option to make this a bit easier if you’re using a lightgun to play. That option has been removed, with a new plugin taking its place. The great news is that the plugin works even if you aren’t using a lightgun. That’s right, you can now assign a button to reload when you’re playing Virtua Cop or Lethal Enforcers with a keyboard, mouse or trackball. Check the plugin documentation for more details.
The Hanimex Pencil II computer has had a bit of an overhaul, which should make more software usable. A few more of the many BBC Micro peripherals have been emulated. Other improvements this month include better Apple IIgs periodic interrupt emulation, another working Apple II clone from behind the Iron Curtain, better representation of base Grid Compass hardware configurations, and better default sound routing for people using Apple notebook computers.
As always, you can read about everything that changed this month in the whatsnew.txt file, and the source code and 64-bit Windows binary packages are linked from our download page.