A fully featured, retro-inspired handheld dev console with open-source firmware.
Create your own platformer, side-scroller, racer... whatever! 32blit is a modern handheld designed for homebrew hacking. It's the product of our third Kickstarter and our first foray into hackable handhelds.
The 32blit hardware has all the functionality you'd expect from a developer console dreamed up by a bunch of retro games enthusiasts who've somehow gained access to a fancy production line -
- Full colour 3.5" (320x240) screen with retro-appropriate aspect ratio.
- Speedy 480MHz ARM Cortex-M7 processor inside!
- Quality D-pad, ABXY, Home/Menu buttons, and an analog stick.
- A microSD card slot to supplement the inbuilt 32MB of flash.
- Inbuilt accelerometer for incorporating physical movement (gasp) into your games.
- Inbuilt speaker and amp for superior bleeps, trills and *insert coin collect noise here*.
- Custom, injection moulded case.
The hardware is supported by a great SDK, developed thanks to the dedicated and continuing efforts of the 32blit community. The 32blit C/C++ SDK can be used to compile games for multiple platforms (Linux, Windows, macOS, 32blit and now, PicoSystem), so it's possible to post your creations on sites like itch.io for the whole world to enjoy. As a taster, check out the excellent Super Square Bros by Scorpion Games (or you can find more games and demos to poke at on Blithub).
Please note that STM32 chip availability is extremely uncertain right now (see recent PlayDate and Steam Deck delays!). As such, we can't promise what 32blit availability is going to be like in the future, so if you've been waiting to pick up an OG blit, you might want to do that sooner rather than later.
Specifications
- STM32H750VB Cortex-M7 processor (480MHz, 1MB SRAM, hardware floating-point) (datasheet)
- 32MB flash via QSPI interface which supports XiP (execute-in-place)
- 3.5" 320x240 16-bit IPS TFT display
- microSD card slot
- 0.5W speaker with mono audio power amplifier
- Analog joystick, D-pad, four action buttons, and two system buttons
- LIS3DHTR triaxial accelerometer
- micro-B USB port for programming and charging
- 1200mAh rechargeable battery (good for 4+ hours of play!)
- 32blit C/C++ SDK
At 150mm x 65mm and weighing ~250 grams it's also super-portable and will easily slip into your bag or pocket!
Resources
- So You've Just Received Your 32blit
- Building and Running on 32blit
- Start your own project using the 32blit boilerplate
- Find games/demos at https://blithub.co.uk/ or https://cupboard.daftgames.net/32blit/
- Join the 32blit community on discord or forums.