Modretro's Chromatic Is a Modern Tribute to the Game Boy

Oculus founder Palmer Luckey has relaunched the ModRetro Chromatic, a premium magnesium-alloy handheld designed to be the "final form" of the Game Boy with a focus on extreme durability and physical cartridge ownership.

Built to combat planned obsolescence, the device features modern upgrades like USB-C streaming and an optional sapphire screen while maintaining full backward compatibility with original Nintendo cartridges.

Palmer Luckey's ModRetro revealed the Chromatic in June 2024 at $199, a magnesium alloy handheld with an FPGA core that plays original Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges, streams video over USB-C, and carries an optional sapphire screen version at $299 The Verge. Reviewers converged on the hardware: The Verge called it perhaps the best Game Boy ever made even after running one over with a car and shattering its screen. The verdict landed again this August, when PCMag scored it four of five at the same $199.99 while still ranking the pricier Analogue Pocket first PCMag. Luckey's Anduril fortune keeps the project contested, and demand faces its next test when holiday stock lands.