I turned an old PC into a retro console with Batocera, and it boots straight into my game library

Published Nov 8, 2026, 6:00 PM EST Anurag is an experienced journalist and author who’s been covering tech for the past 5 years, with a focus on Windows, Android, and Apple. He’s written for sites like Android Police, Neowin, Dexerto, and MakeTechEasier. Anurag’s always pumped about tech and loves getting his hands on the latest gadgets. When he's not procrastinating, you’ll probably find him catching the newest movies in theaters or scrolling through Twitter from his bed. I like the idea of giving an old PC a permanent job beside the TV, especially if that job involves playing games I grew up with. For a dedicated retro console, I want to switch it on, pick a game with my controller, and start playing. Batocera gives you an operating system built around that experience. It boots directly into EmulationStation, where you can browse your library and launch games across different consoles from one interface. You can run it from a USB drive before committing to the PC’s internal storage, which makes it easy to check whether your hardware is suitable for the games you want to play. Batocera gives your old PC a dedicated gaming interface Your hardware decides what you play Batocera bundles the emulators and handles much of the configuration that you’d otherwise do separately. EmulationStation presents your games in one library, then launches the appropriate emulator when you select a title. Batocera also applies your controller mappings across supported emulators, so you don’t have to configure the same buttons for every console. You’ll need a supported PC, a drive for Batocera and your games, a controller, and a connection to your TV or monitor. Keep a keyboard around for the initial setup and troubleshooting. For most Intel and AMD PCs, you’ll use the x86_64 version of Batocera. The consoles you want to emulate matter more than the computer's age alone. You can easily emulate NES, Mega Drive, and SNES games, but PS2 or GameCube titles require more processing power. A PC that handles older systems well won’t necessarily run newer ones smoothly, and higher rendering resolutions put additional strain on the hardware. I’d start with the games I actually want to play and check the hardware against those emulators’ requirements. Storage is another consideration that depends on your library size. Cartridge-based games take up relatively little space, but disc images can fill a drive quickly. Batocera needs at least 32GB of storage for full functionality, plus extra space for your game collection. My system has plenty of storage and a capable Ryzen 5 processor, so I didn’t run into many issues. Install Batocera and make it the default boot The PC starts directly in Batocera You can run Batocera from a USB drive before installing it on the PC’s internal storage. Download the x86_64 image from Batocera’s website, then open Raspberry Pi Imager and select Use custom to load the downloaded image. Choose your USB drive as the destination and write the image. With the drive connected to your old PC, restart and open its boot menu. Select the Batocera drive, using its UEFI entry if available, and let the first boot finish expanding the data partition. If Secure Boot blocks startup, you can enroll Batocera’s signing key or disable Secure Boot in the firmware settings. If you're keeping an encrypted Windows installation, have your BitLocker recovery key ready before changing those settings. For a permanent installation, connect Batocera to the internet and open System Settings > Install Batocera on a New Disk. Select the internal drive and x86_64 architecture. This wipes the destination, including any existing operating system and personal files. It also downloads a fresh image rather than copying your USB setup, so add it to your library after completing the installation. The old PC now works as a dedicated console I can leave the keyboard aside Once Batocera is installed and your games are in place, you can start using the PC as a dedicated console. I can sit down with a controller, find something to play, and stay on the couch for the rest of the session. It takes some time to get everything set up, but everyday use is much simpler. With artwork, descriptions, and video previews, you can browse games by their covers or check what an unfamiliar title looks like before launching it. I like having that option when I haven’t decided what to play. The All Games collection also lets you browse across consoles without choosing a particular system first. Once you’re in a game, you can use the controller to switch to something else without reaching for the keyboard. In supported emulators, pressing Hotkey + Start takes you back to the library, where you can pick another game. Batocera also has a save states feature that’s especially useful when you only have a little time to play. Older games don’t always give you a convenient place to stop, so saving your progress at any point makes things much easier. With supported emulators, Batocera can even show your saved states in the library and let you choose where to pick up before launching a game. Games like Super Mario World, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, and Tetris are exactly what I want to play on this machine. I can switch it on, play a few levels, or try to beat my previous high score without committing to a long session. Once I’m done, I can shut down the PC through Batocera’s menu using the same controller. I barely need to touch the keyboard anymore, unless I need to set something up or fix something.