The Delta emulator is coming to iPad

After years of restricting emulation apps from entering its App Store, Apple finally opened the floodgates to the software category earlier this month. The first high-profile app to hit the ground running was Delta, which features the ability to emulate a slew of classic Nintendo systems.

One of the developers of the emulator, Riley Testut, took to Threads over the weekend to confirm the active development of an iPad-optimized version of the app.

“We’ve been working on it for a while and it’s near completion, just need to finish up controller skins + fix some last bugs,” says Testut.

A short video posted by Testut showcases Delta in action on the large screen, complete with what appears to be support for both Split View and Slide Over modes.

In its current stable release, you can download and run Delta on an iPad without any trouble. That said, it acts simply as a blown-up iPhone app, and doesn’t take advantage of the much larger canvas provided by Apple’s tablets.

It’s great to see the Delta team lean into native iPad support, now that Apple provides its blessing for such functionality. The windowing and multitasking support is the cherry on top, giving iPad users a genuine leg up over their iPhone-toting counterparts.

In his post, Testut notes the Delta team plans to bring additional features to the emulator. Device-to-device multiplayer is one such addition in the works, as well as “other ‘big’ features” to come.

If you’re interested in trying out full-fledged iPad support ahead of the pack, the version 1.6 update is now available to Delta’s Patreon subscribers through its AltStore app market. Unfortunately, AltStore is only available for download within the European Economic Area (EEA), a result of the bloc’s recent Digital Markets Act (DMA).

What does Nintendo have to say about all this?

Nintendo, whose rich library of retro titles are the ones being emulated using Delta, continues to remain ominously quiet. The Japanese-based gaming giant has a long and well-documented track record of bullishly protecting its IP.

Most recently, the popular Nintendo Switch emulator known as Yuzu was implicated in legal troubles brought on by Nintendo, resulting in the emulator ceasing its active development and distribution entirely.

Delta is in a different situation than Yuzu, with the former exclusively offering support for emulating long-defunct game consoles. Of course, Nintendo does offer its own library of classic games via its Switch Online subscription service, but non-sanctioned emulation remains a legal gray area.

Related

The best Nintendo Switch models: Switch, Lite, and OLED compared

There are three models along with a smattering of special edition models to choose from, and they’re all pretty great.

It’s unclear whether Nintendo is willing to pick a fight in this particular arena, as it’ll necessarily implicate Apple in the process. Increased legal scrutiny surrounding Apple’s alleged uncompetitive behavior is the catalyst for allowing emulator apps onto its App Store, so the situation is a precarious one.

Additionally, it’s worth pointing out that the Google Play Store, as well as Android more broadly, has had an emulation app ecosystem for many years now. For the most part, Nintendo hasn’t gone after Android-based emulators specializing in running old school consoles like the NES, SNES, and GBA.

How things will play out is anyone’s guess. It’s certainly within the realm of possibility that Delta will be one day hit with a DMCA or otherwise by the likes of Nintendo. For the time being, the app can be downloaded from the App Store.