Changelog

NEW

• Two touch modes for pointer games. Games that use the touchscreen as a mouse now show a small button to switch how touch behaves. In the default mode a tap is a left click and a press and hold is a right click, so you can slide to move the pointer without clicking (best for point-and-click games like minesweepers). In drag mode, touching and dragging grabs and moves things, which suits games where you drag pieces around the board. The button appears only for games that use the pointer, turns blue while drag mode is on, and can be moved or resized in the layout editor.

NEW

• Write NFC cart tags (iOS). From a cart's menu, choose Write NFC cart and hold your phone to a blank tag. Scanning that tag later opens Pixl8 straight into the game, and the tags work on Android too.
• Crimson Night updated. The featured game Crimson Night by Fictionity is refreshed to its latest version, and shows an Updated badge until you play it.

FIXED

• On-screen controls come back when you unplug a controller. Connecting a controller still hides the touch controls, but disconnecting now shows them again, and only hiding them yourself is remembered between sessions. Before, connecting a controller once could leave the controls hidden even with no controller attached.
• Fewer rare crashes (iOS). Fixed a crash that could happen on low-memory devices when loading or opening some games. (Android got this fix in 1.6.8.)
• Choosing your own carts folder (iOS). If you tap a file by mistake while picking your folder, Pixl8 now keeps your current folder and reminds you to select the folder itself, instead of ending up with an empty library. Folders stored in iCloud or other file providers also load more reliably.
• Better cart compatibility. Fixed an engine issue that made some carts fail to start with a Lua error; those carts now load and play.
• Recent tab cleanup. Deleting a game now also clears it from the Recent tab, including games you played from the web or opened from a file. And a Recent entry whose file no longer exists can now be removed from the Recent tab instead of getting stuck there.

FIXED

• The left analog stick now controls games and menus. On a connected controller, the left stick now works everywhere the d-pad does: moving your character in games, navigating the launcher, and changing options in the in-game pause menu (such as the save-state slot). Before, some games and menus only responded to the d-pad. On iOS the cursor speed in games that use the pointer now follows how far you push the stick.
• Broader controller compatibility (iOS). Pixl8 now recognizes more controllers, including ones that have only a d-pad and buttons with no analog sticks. The 8BitDo FlipPad, which was not detected before, now works.
• Stability fixes. Fixed several rare crashes: loading a game's cover art or opening a game on low-memory devices, and opening some links or starting a shake-to-connect session on certain phones and TVs.

NEW

• Three new games: Harold's Bad Day by biovoid, sokoblox by codeAtorium, and Yet Another Pico Tetris by jonckjunior.
• Updated games now get a badge. When a featured game ships a newer version in an app update, its tile shows an "Updated" badge in the corner instead of looking like a brand new game, and it clears once you play. It appears wherever the game is listed (Library, Favourites, and Recent). swopper by 4EyedIgby is the first game to get it.

FIXED

• Games that wait on music no longer get stuck. Some games pause on an intro or between-level screen until a piece of music finishes, then continue. A timing issue could leave them stuck on that screen; they now advance correctly. This is what kept Bank Runner from reaching gameplay after its intro.

NEW

• Two new games: Driftmania by MaxBize, and a Woodworm+ mod by bigmonkeynads, built on the original by Spratt.
• Take screenshots from the in-game menu. No setup needed: open the layout menu during play and tap Screenshot. Shots are kept per game, and you can browse them from Manage screenshots.
• Show or hide the on-screen controls. A new toggle in the in-game menu lets you hide the touch controls when you don't need them. They also hide automatically when you connect a controller and reappear when you disconnect it, and your manual choice is remembered.

CHANGED

• Games now fill the whole screen. The navigation bar is hidden during play and the layout respects display cutouts, so notched phones keep the image clear of the camera hole. On 1:1 displays the game uses the full panel.
• The screen stays awake while you play. Playing with a controller, music carts, and multiplayer sessions no longer hit the system screen timeout.
• Faster controller navigation in the launcher. Pressing up from the top tabs jumps straight to the bottom bar, and down from the bar jumps back (portrait).

FIXED

• Local multiplayer game starts. An intermittent desync right at the start of a match is fixed. Both devices now begin from an identical state, whatever was on either screen before. (about multiplayer)
• Hosting keeps the game's details. Hosting on your local network from the Recent or Favourites tab now sends the title and author along with the cart, so the joining player sees proper details instead of a raw filename.
• Joining no longer re-downloads a game you own. If an identical copy is already in your library, it plays directly.
• Correct save-state import count. Thumbnails are no longer counted as save states in the overwrite and result messages.
• Cleaner multiplayer lobby. The search field only appears when more than one game is listed, and hosting is now a single row: your last hosted game is remembered and shown with its cover art, one tap hosts it again, and the pencil picks a different game. Long-press the row to forget the saved game.
• Developer console. Typing exit or shutdown in the console now leaves the game cleanly and returns to your library. Before, the command was ignored.

NEW

• Six new games. Suika demake, Picokaiju, Guncho and Yet Another Minesweeper by Spoike; Crimson Night by Fictionity; and Swopper by 4EyedIgby.
• Two more languages. Pixl8 is now translated into 한국어 (Korean) and Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), for 13 languages in all. Pick yours in Android's per‑app language settings.
• Play on Android TV with any remote. If your remote has no dedicated buttons, the number and colour keys now act as controls (1 or Red = X, 2 or Green = O), Play opens the layout and settings menu, and Pause opens the in‑game menu. The same keys confirm and cancel throughout the app, and a short guide appears the first time you use a remote. (TV remote guide)

FIXED

• Input recordings in multicart games. Recording your inputs in a game made of several carts produced a file that couldn’t be played back (frame numbers restarted whenever the game loaded its next cart). Recordings now stay consistent across the whole session. Older recordings of multicart games remain broken; record them again. (about input scripts)

NEW

• New game: Kalikan by LouieChapm.

FIXED

• Tidier multiplayer library. When a multi-cart game pulls its extra carts from the host during a session, those sub-carts no longer show up as separate entries in your library.
• Clearer button focus. The highlighted button in the "new games" popup now shows the proper focus border for controller and handheld players, instead of a grey circle.
• Better cart compatibility. Fixed several engine issues (cart parsing, table handling, and line drawing) so more demanding homebrew carts run correctly, including the fighting game ROBO OH vs UCHU MEGA FIGHT.

NEW

• New game: PICO‑BALL by Munchkin.
• Now in your language. Pixl8 is translated into Italiano, Français, Español, Deutsch, Português (Portugal and Brazil), Nederlands, 日本語, and Chinese (简体 and 繁體). On Android 13 and later you can set the app’s language on its own, without changing your whole phone.
• Help translate Pixl8. A new Improve translations entry in Settings lets you suggest better wording or add your language. (suggest a translation)

FIXED

• Two‑player games badge on their own. Featured and multiplayer carts now show the 2‑player badge without you having to play each one first.
• Clear focus for controllers and handhelds. The highlight showing what’s selected now appears on every device when you navigate with a controller or D‑pad, not just on Android TV.

NEW

• Android TV. Pixl8 now runs on Android TV and TV boxes. Browse your library and featured games on the big screen, navigate entirely with the D‑pad or remote, and launch a cart with a single button. A Play next row on the TV home screen keeps your most recent games, plus a rotating pick of featured carts, one click away.
• Send carts to your TV. Push games from your phone straight to the app on your TV over your local network, no cables or cloud needed. Multi‑cart games are sent whole, so collections and their sub‑games arrive ready to play. (about multi‑carts)

FIXED

• Rotating and square screens. On rotating and 1:1 handhelds like the RG Rotate and RG Cube, leaving a game no longer flashes a sideways layout; the normal view is kept throughout.
• Assorted stability and security fixes.

NEW

• New game: Build a Jetpack by Aymeri.
• Multiplayer — play PICO‑8 together three ways: on the same Wi‑Fi, a direct device‑to‑device link (the two devices set up their own Wi‑Fi, no router or internet), or online over the internet. Long‑press a game to host it, or join from the lobby. Joining is free for everyone; hosting is a Pro feature. (see how‑to)
• Friends & invites — add friends nearby or by a short share code, see when they're online, and invite them to a game.
• Two‑player games are badged in your library, so you can spot what's playable together at a glance.
• NFC cards. Long‑press a game and pick “Write NFC cart” to program a blank NFC tag or sticker. Turn it into your own physical “cartridge” that launches the game with a single tap on your phone. The tag is just a bookmark; it launches a game you already have and stores no game data. A printable card layout is included. (see how‑to)

FIXED

• Smoother playback — heavy games no longer briefly flash a half‑drawn frame.
• Better cart loading — games are recognised by their content, so more files open correctly even with an unexpected name.
• More reliable multiplayer invites.
• Layout fixes on large screens and foldables — the status bar no longer overlaps the top controls.

NEW

• New games: Woodworm and Trichromat by Spratt.
• Haptic feedback for the on-screen controls — a short vibration when you press the d-pad or buttons. Optional; turn it on in Settings.

CHANGED

• Updated for Android 16, with edge-to-edge display and better behaviour on tablets and foldables — the app now follows rotation and resizing freely.

FIXED

• (Watch) Reopening the app after the screen sleeps no longer leaves stacked copies — one swipe now exits cleanly back to the watch face.
• A cart with no metadata file now shows a clean name — a .p8.png cart reads as its plain name instead of keeping a leftover .p8.

NEW

• New games: Boba, Rolly, and seven from Krystman — Porklike, Breakout Hero, Pico Checkmate, Mai-Chan's Sweet Buns, Cattle Crisis, Cherry Bomb and High Stakes.
• Bluetooth controllers on the watch (experimental). Pair a game controller right from the watch, then navigate the launcher and menus with the d-pad and play with real buttons. Whether input works depends on your watch allowing controllers — confirmed on the Samsung Galaxy Watch 7, others may vary.

FIXED

• (Watch) Deleting a game from your library now jumps to a neighbouring game instead of leaving an empty space.
• (Watch) The "Receiving…" animation while games arrive now plays once for the whole batch — and stays up long enough to see — instead of flickering for each file.
• (Watch) Settings now fit the smallest round screens — labels and controls are no longer clipped, and the text scales to stay readable at large system font sizes.
• Fixed a game where the player's sprite could get stuck flashing solid red after taking damage.

NEW

• New games: Spaceman 8 and Worm Nom Nom.
• Pixl8 on your watch. Full Wear OS support — your PICO-8 library on Samsung Galaxy Watch, Pixel Watch and other Wear OS watches.
• Send games to your watch. Pick carts on the phone and send them over Bluetooth — multi-cart games pull their extra parts on demand.
• Browse on your wrist. A coverflow launcher — spin through your games with the rotating bezel or crown and tap the front one to play.
• Tilt or tap to pause, and resize the square game to sit comfortably inside the round screen.
• Quick-launch Tile. Your recently played games, one tap from the watch face.
• Pro on the watch. Unlock right on the watch, or a purchase you already made on the phone carries over automatically.

CHANGED

• Auto-save on exit now also saves when you pick Quit from the pause menu — not only when the app is backgrounded — so quitting keeps your progress (phone and watch).

FIXED

• (Watch) Featured games that load extra level data now start promptly instead of stalling on a black screen.
• (Watch) Lower battery use — a game stops running while the screen is off, and motion sensing is lighter.

NEW

• New games: Cryomancer, Oblivion Eve, No-No, No-No, YES! and Callisto.
• Gift-wrapped games. New games arrive wrapped up in your library. Tap once to unwrap them — ribbon, jingle and all — then play.
• Remap your controller. Put any action on the button you want, including moving the pause menu wherever feels natural.
• Rename games. Give any cart your own title — it shows up and sorts that way everywhere, and you can switch back any time.
• Move & resize the screen. Reposition and zoom the game screen and the on-screen buttons to fit your device, per orientation.
• App sound toggle. Turn the launcher sounds (like the unwrap jingle) on or off. Never affects in-game audio.
• POOM now runs — the PICO-8 first-person shooter, with its keyboard and two-player controls.
• Twin-stick controls. The right stick acts as a second player, for games that use both at once.

CHANGED

• Your library now sorts by the title you actually see, not the hidden file name.

FIXED

• Music no longer restarts when lots of sound effects fire at once (like the explosions in Birds with Guns).
• Sound now follows your output device — plug in a Bluetooth headset or USB adapter mid-game and the audio keeps playing.
• Games with their own pause menu (like POOM) behave correctly: the first press opens the game's menu, the second opens Pixl8's.
• Tidied up a batch of game-specific quirks, including From Rust to Ash, snekburd, void_protocol and Linecraft.

• A native PICO-8 player for Android, tuned to match the real console.
• A library with curated featured games plus your own carts, favourites, recents and search.
• Customizable touch controls and gamepad support, at any screen size.
• Low-latency audio.
• Pro extras: save states, a step-by-step debugger, and an input recorder.
• Back up and restore your saves, screenshots and recordings.
• Open PICO-8 game links from the Lexaloffle community straight into Pixl8.