In 2025, there will be plenty of options available to people who want legal access to retro games, including Evercade, Antstream, Nintendo Switch Online, and PS Plus. However, the team behind Recade is hoping there will be room for one more and is building "a platform dedicated to the arcade community and providing the space to reconnect those passionate players to the games and community they love."
Recade is an emulation box that goes under your TV and is powered by an as-yet-unnamed quad-core processor. It boasts dual-band WiFi and connects to your TV via HDMI, like any other modern-day console. It will ship with its own wireless controller, which features a six-button setup, eight-way D-pad, and a Hall effect analogue stick.
The unique selling point of Recade is that it will allow you to legally play '70s, '80s and '90s coin-op titles either locally or online, benefitting from features such as screen filters, voice chat, cloud saves and more. The idea is to sell the base unit cheaply and then support the platform's growth with a traditional subscription-based business model.
"We are designing our hardware with flexibility in mind," says Recade's Adam Daywalker. "Not all aspects are locked down just yet, but we are planning on a hybrid model to adjust to local vs online play smoothly."
Recade has been in development for a while now, and Daywalker reveals that, although funding hasn't been completely secured, the end is in sight. "We are still hard at work trying to make this dream happen. We have not been able to raise any money just yet, so we’ve kept our jobs and built on the side. Our focus right now is to build 10 alpha units to sell to prove our market. We are close to that goal now."
The plan is to launch Recade this year, assuming funding can be obtained. Recade is "currently building partnerships with publishers towards our goal of 50+ classic arcade games at launch" and says that "additional titles will be added to the library continuously after launch with no subscription increase."
As we've seen with Evercade and Antstream, IP holders are more than willing to license out their classic games for modern consumption—but it remains to be seen if Recade can offer the kind of audience such deals rely on.
As for the price, Recade says it is working with manufacturing partners "as well as game publishers" to come to a precise figure, but that's not available as yet. "We are aiming for an affordable price point for our console and a small monthly subscription fee to access the games library. Our plan has always been and continues to be keeping affordability a priority while not sacrificing quality," says the company.
If you're interested in the Recade project, sign up for updates here.