No. 10 of 54 ·Multi-System Emulators

ares

Windows · Mac · Linux

Freedom report

Three barsScore 6.5

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedPlans, terms and facts published

ares is ranked #10 of 54 in multi-system emulators on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

ares plans and pricing

All plans

ares Free Open-source multi-system emulator ares-emu.net · 2 Oct 2026

Compared on multi-system emulators

Free plan: Yes
Open source: Yes

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The record

Purpose: ares is a cross-platform, open-source multi-system emulator focused on accuracy and preservation.
Supported systems: The site lists systems including Arcade, Atari 2600, WonderSwan, ColecoVision, NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, and PlayStation; some are marked experimental.
Native UI: The hiro framework gives ares a native-style interface using WinAPI on Windows, Cocoa on macOS, and GTK2 or GTK3 on POSIX platforms.
Playback features: ares supports save states, run-ahead, rewind, and fast-forward.
Display features: ares supports pixel shaders and optional color correction to emulate original display characteristics.
Input: Virtual Game-Pads let users configure controls once and adapt them to each emulated system.
Development: ares includes simple debugging features such as trace logging to aid development of original software for supported systems.
Linux support: The project prefers that Linux users compile from source and links to third-party packages rather than providing official Linux binaries.
Windows support: The Windows build supports Windows 7 or higher; AMD64 binaries require at least Intel Nehalem or AMD Jaguar CPU architecture.
macOS support: The macOS binaries require macOS 10.15 Catalina and are universal binaries for Intel and Apple Silicon.
License: The source code is distributed under the ISC license.
Project history: The project began as bsnes on October 14, 2004, was renamed higan in 2012, and ares was created as a higan fork on March 25, 2020.
Source organization: The ares project includes components named libco, nall, hiro, ruby, mia, and desktop-ui.
Founded: 2020
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Multi-System Emulators in 2026#10 of 54
Best Game Console Emulators in 2026#10 of 35
Best TurboGrafx-16 Emulators in 2026#4 of 32
Best SNES Emulators in 2026#6 of 31
Best Game Gear Emulators in 2026#6 of 30
Best Sega Genesis Emulators in 2026#6 of 29
Best Game Boy Advance Emulators in 2026#4 of 29
Best Sega Master System Emulators in 2026#3 of 25
Best Nintendo 64 Emulators in 2026#5 of 23
Best Sega CD Emulators in 2026#6 of 19

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Sources

ares-emu.net· checked 2 Oct 2026
ares-emu.net/download· checked 2 Oct 2026
ares-emu.net/about· checked 2 Oct 2026