Homebrew (video games)

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Homebrew, when applied to video games, refers to software produced by hobbyists for proprietary video game consoles which are not intended to be user-programmable. The official documentation is often only available to licensed developers, and these systems may use storage formats that make distribution difficult, such as ROM cartridges or encrypted CD-ROMs. Many consoles have hardware restrictions to prevent unauthorized development.

Development can use unofficial, community maintained toolchains or official development kits such as Net Yaroze, Linux for PlayStation 2, or Microsoft XNA.^[1] Targets for homebrew games are typically those which are no longer commercially relevant or produced, and with simpler graphics and/or computational abilities, such as the Atari 2600, Nintendo Entertainment System, Wii, Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Genesis, Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation, and PlayStation 2.

As hobbyists began to make unofficial games and homebrew for consoles, a number of groups were formed that involved homebrew as well as circumventing the hardware and software restrictions imposed on the consoles. One such group was Team Twiizers, created and founded by Jack Bourne and Sam Tronson Jr. in 2007. Their name comes from a Twilight Princess exploit that was made by the team themselves. They remained active until 2012 when legal issues came in but made a comeback in 2019. As of 2024^[update], the team continues to make unofficial games and homebrew to this day.