Strato

Paid Android

What Strato is

Strato is a free, open-source experimental emulator project for ARMv8 Android devices, designed to emulate a Nintendo Switch system. The project describes its approach as an ARM Compatibility Layer combined with System Emulation, with goals of accuracy, performance, and ease of use. It remains in development and is not ready for public release. Strato began after Skyline was discontinued in May 2023, with the stated aim of continuing that work and addressing its issues, performance, and compatibility. Development has included changes to texture management, synchronization, queries, MSAA rendering, and the blit engine, with work intended to improve rendering accuracy. A texture variant system improved compatibility with Mali GPUs, and firmware importing was added for games that use firmware assets. A February 2024 report described ongoing work to run 32-bit games. Its shader compiler is a fork of yuzu's compiler with changes for mobile GPU emulation. The project names Lynx and TheASV as developers and credits other contributors. Its source is licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.

Who it suits

It may interest Android users with ARMv8 devices who want to follow an experimental emulator project or contribute to its development.

What it does well

Free and open source
Targets ARMv8 Android devices
Texture variant system improved Mali GPU compatibility
Firmware importing was added for games using firmware assets
Project encourages contributions

What to know first

Not ready for public release
32-bit game support work was ongoing in February 2024

Limits

Strato is in development and not ready for public release. Work to run 32-bit games was still ongoing in a February 2024 progress report.

Getting started

Visit https://strato-emu.github.io/.
Follow the project through its Discord server for questions and development updates.
Review the Contributing Guide if you want to contribute.

Verdict

Strato is an active experimental project, not a public-ready emulator. Its development notes describe graphics and compatibility work, but also ongoing limitations.

Questions

Is Strato free?

Yes. Strato is described as free and open source.

Which platform does Strato support?

Android is the listed platform; the project describes its target devices as ARMv8 Android devices.

Is Strato ready for public use?

No. The project says it is in development and not yet ready for public release.

What license does Strato use?

The source is licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0 or later.

Who develops Strato?

The project names Lynx and TheASV as developers, with other contributors helping.

How can I contact or contribute to the project?

The repository directs questions and development followers to Discord. The project also points prospective contributors to Discord and its Contributing Guide.

Facts from Strato's own pages

32-bit games: The February 2024 progress report says core emulator components had been modified to work with JIT and were ready to run 32-bit games. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Contributions: The team encourages contributions and directs interested contributors to its Discord and Contributing Guide. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Design: Strato was designed to provide an accurate, performant, and user-friendly emulation experience through an ARM Compatibility Layer and System Emulation. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Developers: The project is developed by Lynx and TheASV, who are full-time students and work on the emulator in their free time. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Development status: The About page says Strato is in development and is not yet ready for public release. · strato-emu.github.io, 4 Oct 2026
Firmware support: The 2023 recap says Strato added support for importing firmware, which the team expected to increase compatibility with games that use firmware assets. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Graphics backend: The project says its shader compiler is a fork of yuzu's shader compiler with Strato-specific changes for mobile GPU emulation. · github.com, 4 Oct 2026
Graphics technology: The February 2024 progress report describes Strato's use of Vulkan image objects and fences in its graphics work. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Graphics work: The 2023 recap says the team worked on a texture manager rewrite, including texture synchronization and changes that improved rendering accuracy. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
License: The GitHub repository says Strato is licensed under GNU General Public License v3.0 or later. · github.com, 4 Oct 2026
Mali GPU compatibility: The project says its texture variant system improved compatibility with Mali GPUs. · strato-emu.github.io, 4 Oct 2026
Origins: Strato was created after Skyline was discontinued in May 2023 to continue that project's work and address its issues, performance, and compatibility. · strato-emu.github.io, 4 Oct 2026
Product: Strato is an open-source, experimental emulator for ARMv8 Android devices that emulates the functionality of a Nintendo Switch system. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Project history: The project was created after the Skyline emulator was discontinued in May 2023, to continue its work and improve its issues, performance, and compatibility. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Purpose: Strato is an open source, experimental emulator for ARMv8 Android devices that emulates a Nintendo Switch system. · strato-emu.github.io, 4 Oct 2026
Release status: The About page says Strato is in development and is not yet ready for public release. · strato-emu.github.io, 8 Oct 2026
Rendering work: A 2023 recap describes texture management, synchronization, query, MSAA rendering, and blit-engine work intended to improve rendering accuracy. · strato-emu.github.io, 4 Oct 2026
Support and contact: The repository directs users with questions and those following development to the Strato Discord server. · github.com, 4 Oct 2026

Where Strato stands on Freedom251

Nintendo Switch Emulators#20 of 20