Someone built a Game Boy from scratch using an ESP32, and I’m impressed

Credit: engineeroids Published Nov 5, 2026, 3:29 AM EST Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary DIY Game Boy using an ESP32 and a spare 160×128 ST7735 LCD. It's built on a perfboard with an analog joystick and push buttons, but it's USB-powered for now (no battery). It plays games, but save states, a splash screen, and a way to store multiple games are in the works. If you want to revisit the classics, there are plenty of handheld retro consoles out there that you can buy. But what if you built your own instead? That's exactly what one user did when they found a spare LCD screen and wanted to put it to good use. Now, it's part of a functioning DIY Game Boy, and while it's a bit bare-bones for now, it's still an impressive start. Someone made their own Game Boy using an ESP32 Why buy when you can DIY? Over on the ESP32 subreddit, user engineeroids posted photos and details about their homemade Game Boy. It began when they discovered they had a spare 160x128 ST7735 LCD sitting around and wanted to put it to good use. They originally wanted to make a music controller, but opted instead to use it for a DIY Game Boy because, in their words, "This way it's much cooler." And I have to agree. Here's everything they used (and in one case, didn't use) to make it: Hardware: - PerfBoard(7cm*9cm) - Analog Joystick - Push Buttons - No battery :( (usb powered) - ESP32 (Devkit V1) - ST7735 (160*128) It's not quite done yet; the creator wants to add save game states and a splash screen on boot. They also have to load the games into flash memory, as using an SD card for multiple games didn't work for larger titles. Here's hoping they find a way to flesh this out into something bigger; it's pretty impressive already.