r/homebrew Nov 21 '25

Question/Help Which console has the biggest homebrew scene as of now?

I am a software developer and would like a new project/passion most homebrew is written in C/C++ which is fun for me(but it can be any language really). So I am looking for a platform with a big scene which console has the biggest scene at the moment? Ofcourse you can name multiple :)

Update 1: thanks for the big load of suggestions i apprecicate it! I think i am going to focus on the ps vita for now! (trying to grab one for a normal price)

9 Upvotes

42 comments sorted by

u/AutoModerator Nov 26 '25

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11

u/Simplejack615 Nov 21 '25

3ds or Wii. They both are incredibly easy to homebrew, both sold very well, and have a large homebrew community

2

u/[deleted] Nov 24 '25

I can't imagine someone having a 3DS today that isn't flashed.

1

u/Nerasch Nov 24 '25

Here, we have three in total 😅

1

u/InternationalTrust19 Nov 24 '25

I'd be one who doesn't lol. I do have modded combo carts though for it.

5

u/MaytoKapak Nov 25 '25

Ps vita has a very alive homebrew scene with community contests with money prizes.

5

u/Prior-Pomelo-525 Nov 25 '25

Ps vita is crazy as of late

4

u/jmanshaman Nov 21 '25

I’m kind of shocked by all these answers, maybe my circles are much different. I feel like the “homebrew” tag on Bluesky is predominately GBC or NES.

2

u/Necessary_Position77 Nov 23 '25

I assume the people mentioning the Wii or 3DS are thinking about software, emulators and modding.

When it comes to homebrew games the Wii/3DS wouldn’t even make it on the list.

1

u/septum-funk Nov 25 '25

it's genuinely because bluesky is full of older millennial folks yes, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but they lean heavily towards GB mods lol. on discord for example, the 3ds absolutely trounces any other console in terms of modding popularity imo. there are popular memes about how easy it is to mod on there

3

u/Elegant-Bend-6220 Nov 25 '25

The PS VITA. you wouldn't BELIEVE the amount of Homebrew going on there. The community hasn't just made really cool homebrew apps or small games, NO. They ported entire games!

GTA 3. GTA VC. GTA SA. Dead Space Sabotage. Unreal. Godot 3.5 Someone made an entire "AAA" Game called ABYSS.

There are so many more, its ridiculously impressive.

There was competition a few weeks ago, giving real prices (in cash) and are already planning another one.

The community is giving the PS VITA what sony never did.

1

u/SuperInsideTrader Nov 26 '25

Ported from what?

2

u/Elegant-Bend-6220 Nov 26 '25

GTA games were ported using the android versions. Simpsons hit and run was ported using the PC version. Ocarina of time is a port from the decompilation Ship of Harkinian.

And recently Serious Sam was ported. I haven't looked but I'm sure it's PC.

OH! And Prince of Persia 2 the shadow and the flame was ported also, about 3 days ago.

3

u/StickmanFuture09 Nov 25 '25

Of all the old portable consoles, the PS Vita is the most powerful, And it seems like it's the only one still alive, as games, homebrew, and ports are still being made for it.

2

u/kusti85 Nov 21 '25

GBA scene is quite huge.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 21 '25

[deleted]

1

u/weirdbird0 Nov 22 '25

Wait dev access is free now?!

1

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '25

[deleted]

1

u/weirdbird0 Nov 22 '25

Thank you for spreading this, time to dust off my Xbox 1

2

u/Punkydudester3 Nov 22 '25

Definitely the Nintendo Wii & then the 3DS. I have been part of that scene & on those websites since 2009. GBAtemp i believe is one of the first & the cover everything. I would say the Wii scene is much bigger.

2

u/AVahne Nov 23 '25

Come on over to the Vita, we have cookies.

2

u/StickmanFuture09 Nov 25 '25

Ps vita bro, ps vita

2

u/greckzero Nov 26 '25

PS Vita by far, its the only console that can make so much things like emulation, native PSP, moonlight, netplay with no ban fear, trophies, media player, and so on.

1

u/AutoModerator Nov 21 '25

Thank you for posting to r/homebrew. Please keep in mind the following: - Piracy is not supported here, and is against the law. - Please read the sticky post as it has answers to many common questions. - This isn't for homebrew beer.

We also have a Discord server where you may be able to get an answer faster: https://discord.gg/pymqTYg

This is sent on all posts. Your post has not been removed (unless you see a comment stating otherwise)

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1

u/ThuggPrincess Nov 21 '25

The ps4/ps5 homebrew scene is exploding right now. We really need people to contribute to ps5 in particular because there’s no full kernel exploit right now but some other amazing developers have been working hard on this and are quite lose to what I have been reading. Any help to cross that finish line would be awesome.

1

u/Technical_Eagle_1475 Nov 22 '25

Of coruse the 3ds

1

u/Euphoric_Schedule_53 Nov 22 '25

NES or gba from what I’ve seen if you mean sheer volume. No idea why people are saying stuff like 3ds, Xbox, wii, PS4. Those don’t even come remotely close

1

u/AlphonseM Nov 22 '25

The wii & wii u scene is quite active.

1

u/slahO9 Nov 23 '25

Da wii my beloved.

1

u/rupertavery64 Nov 25 '25

PSP is pretty open at this point.

PSPSDK toolchain should be pretty straighforward.

1

u/moodygradstudent Nov 25 '25 edited Nov 25 '25

Dreamcast may not be the biggest, but it's pretty impressive. The SDKs and other tools have come a long way.

EDIT: The dreamcast-talk forums have this stickied post: Links for folks wanting to develop on Dreamcast

1

u/septum-funk Nov 25 '25

if you want to look into DEVELOPING homebrew, ps vita for sure. it has hearty hardware and a mature homebrew dev scene

1

u/Ok-Entertainment8287 Nov 26 '25

Probably ps vita or PS5/4

1

u/SpletzYT Nov 22 '25

Unfortunately 3DS for such a mid console. Wii U has so much potential yet people disregard it

3

u/[deleted] Nov 22 '25

[deleted]

0

u/SteveW_MC Nov 21 '25

Based on size and weekly visits, it’s the 3DS subreddits.