Opening Up Tico: Core Sources Released

Reinforcing Tico’s commitment to the community, a large portion of its core source code is now publicly available under the Tico organization on GitHub.

The following repositories and others are now open:

• https://github.com/ticohq/tico-swanstation

• https://github.com/ticohq/tico-mgba

• https://github.com/ticohq/tico-fceumm

• https://github.com/ticohq/tico-snes9x

• https://github.com/ticohq/tico-genesisplusgx

• https://github.com/ticohq/tico-gambatte

Additional cores will be released over time as the remaining codebases are cleaned up, standardized, and prepared for public use.

A Shift Toward Standalone Cores

These cores are being restructured to function as standalone builds.

This means they are no longer tied exclusively to the Tico frontend and can be used independently, while still maintaining compatibility with the ecosystem.

In the current release, the cores remain integrated into Tico. Full support for using these standalone builds directly within Tico is planned for the upcoming version later this week.

What These Cores Provide

Each core includes a set of practical enhancements designed to improve usability without altering the original emulator behavior:

• A modern overlay aligned with the Tico design language

• Built-in state management (save/load states)

• Integrated rendering filters

• Consistent runtime behavior across cores

These additions aim to make the experience more cohesive while keeping the underlying emulation accurate and predictable.

Why This Matters

Opening these repositories is not just about transparency—it’s about enabling progress.

By making the code available, the goal is to:

• Encourage contributions from developers working on Nintendo Switch and related platforms

• Build a stronger ecosystem around Tico

• Reduce duplicated effort across similar projects

• Share improvements in a way that benefits the broader community