Dolphin Emulator Brings NetPlay Online Multiplayer to Android, Adds Cross-Platform Play

NetPlay is the mechanism Dolphin uses to let games built around local multiplayer be played over the internet. Until this update, the feature required a specific setup to keep gameplay synchronized across devices, which restricted it to players running the same operating system and, in practice, to desktop environments. The new release removes both limits, opening online sessions to Android users and to groups whose members are spread across different platforms.

Dolphin's progress report explains that NetPlay still depends on a method called lockstep. Under lockstep, the emulators running on each player's device advance in parallel, so the software only has to record and exchange user input rather than track every scene-related update. Keeping that model stable requires every player's copy of the game to run at nearly the same pace; when they drift apart, the system deliberately delays frames so the sessions stay in sync. To make that viable, Dolphin runs the application on a single CPU core, intentionally limiting its processing power.

The report also covers the work needed to enable NetPlay on Android and to make it interoperable with instances running elsewhere. Android Authority reported on the update.

Dolphin is among the most widely used retro game emulators, with versions for Android, Windows, Mac and the Steam Deck. It is often the first choice for Wii and GameCube titles because of features such as upscaling, custom graphics mods, and straightforward Bluetooth and USB controller support, alongside the online play that NetPlay provides.