A Homebrew Video Game is a new video game that was made for certain consoles by someone who isn't associated with any video game company. Most makers of these types of games are Indie Game developers.
The word "homebrew" is meant to define alcoholic beverages that have been brewed in one's own home. Homebrew games are designed by gaming hobbyists.
Developing homebrew games became possible when patents on older technology expire. This allows them to be made available to the public, granting people the opportunity to make their own games for their favourite old consoles. As a result, most Homebrew Video Games tend to be Fan Games. Most homebrew games start out being developed on an emulator before being plugged into a cartridge.
Compare Retro Gaming, the aesthetics of which more than a few HVGs are attempt to emulate. Compare also Retraux, where a game for modern systems deliberately invokes the graphical limitations of older systems. See also Game Mod - for when modifications are made to existing games rather than being new games built for older hardware. Also compare and contrast Unlicensed Game, which the line between can be blurry for. Not to be confused with the Nintendo Wii's famous Homebrew Channel, which is more of a hacking software to allow Game Mods for the console's games, though it did also allow homebrew games to be run.
List of Homebrew Video Games:
- L'Abbaye des Morts (Amiga, C64, Genesis, MSX, NES, ZX Spectrum, 2010)
- Action 52 (NES, Genesis, 1991)
- Alwa's Awakening: 8-Bit Edition(NES, 2022)
- Battle Kid: Fortress of Peril (NES, 2010)
- Battle Kid 2: Mountain of Torment (NES, 2012)
- Bible Adventures (NES, Genesis, 1991)
- Bible Buffet (NES, 1993)
- Cave In (Atari 2600, 2010)
- Coffee Crisis (Genesis, 2017)
- Conjoined (Atari 2600, 2016)
- CrazyBus (Genesis, 2004)
- Eskimo Bob Starring Alfonzo (NES, 2017)
- Alfonzos Arctic Adventure (NES, 2019)
- Exodus (NES, GB, Genesis, 1991)
- Eyra the Crow Maiden (NES, SNES, Genesis, 2020)
- Flea (NES, Dreamcast, 2020)
- Fork Parker's Crunch Out (SNES, 2019)
- Ghoul Grind: Night of the Necromancer (NES, Dreamcast, 2021)
- Gunlord (Dreamcast, Neo Geo, 2012)
- Haunted Halloween 85 (NES, 2016)
- Hong Kong '97 (SNES, 1995)
- Intrepid Izzy (Dreamcast, 2020)
- King of Kings: The Early Years (NES, 1991)
- The Legends of Owlia (NES, 2016)
- Little Medusa (NES, SNES, Genesis, 2017)
- Lizard (NES, 2018)
- Master Chu and the Drunkard Hu (NES, 1989)
- Mean Santa (Atari 2600, Colecovision, Intellivision 2, 2020)
- Mega Man: The Sequel Wars (Sega Genesis, 2023)
- Menace Beach (NES, 1990)
- Micro Mages (NES, 2019)
- Millie And Molly (C64, 2020)
- Nebs 'n Debs (NES, 2019)
- Nightmare Busters (SNES, 2013)
- Ninjish Guy In Low Res World (Atari 2600, 2021)
- Nomolos: Storming the Catsle (NES, 2012)
- Panky the Panda (Atari 2600, 2017note )
- Paprium (Genesis, 2020)
- Pier Solar and the Great Architects (Dreamcast, Genesis, 2010)
- Quest Arrest (Game Boy, 2020)
- Raid 2020 (NES, 1989)
- Secret Scout in the Temple of Demise (NES, 1991)
- Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution (Game Boy Advance, 2024note )
- Singular Stone (MSX2, 2020note )
- Skyland (2021) (Game Boy Advance, 2021)
- Spiritual Warfare (NES, GB, Genesis, 1992)
- Super 3D Noah's Ark (SNES, 1994)
- Sydney Hunter and the Caverns of Death (SNES, SMS, C64, 2012)
- Sydney Hunter and the Shrines of Peril (Intellivision, 2014)
- Sydney Hunter and the Sacred Tribe (Colecovision, SMS, C64, 2017)
- Tanzer (Genesis, 2019)
- Tobu Tobu Girl (Game Boy, 2017)
- Tobu Tobu Girl Deluxe (Game Boy Color, 2019)
- Trophy (NES, 2021)
- Xeno Crisis (Dreamcast, GameCube, Genesis, N64, Neo Geo, 2019)
- Zombie Madness (Intellivision, 2019)
