Dolphin, the GameCube and Wii emulator for PC, is coming to Steam

Its developers announced that Dolphin, the most popular emulator for GameCube Wii and Wii on PC will soon get a Steam version.

As an early access download, Dolphin will soon be available on Steam. It is expected to be available on Steam during the second quarter in 2023. Additionally, the emulator has a page that allows you to wishlist the product.

The developers said they would release more information on the Steam version’s features come launch. “We’re pleased to finally tell the world of our experiment,” they said. “This has been the product of many months of work, and we look forward to getting it into users’ hands soon!”

Dolphin’s Steam page stresses that the emulator does not come with any games, and that users must own an original copy of any GameCube or Wii game they want to use with it. “It is just a tool to run legally obtained copies of these games. Once you have dumped copies of your games into a compatible format, you can launch them directly in the emulator.”

Modern controllers are supported, as well as 4K resolutions, fast saves, networked multiplayer and, in certain cases where patches and hacks are available, additional features such as increased frame rates and wider display ratios. Community mods are supported, and it’s fully open source.

Dolphin’s history is almost as old as the consoles that it emulates. Its first version appeared in 2003, just two years into the GameCube’s lifespan, but it didn’t work very well. After a successful revival as an open-source project in 2007, it gained Wii support, as well as Linux and Mac clients, and it’s now one of the most stable emulators out there. It’s worth downloading the Steam version to make running Steam Deck easier.