The Game Bub is something that I have personally backed and am looking forward to receiving. I love handheld and FPGA gaming, so this was a no-brainer for me. A horizontal-style device is what many of us have been after. Bummer that it’s delayed, but honestly, I feel Eli explains everything so well.
Here are the key takeaways from the Game Bub December manufacturing progress report:
Shipping & Production Schedule
- New Delivery Estimate: Shipping has been delayed from February 2026 to May 2026.
- Production Volume: Following a successful campaign, over 1,000 Game Bubs and approximately 500 Docks are scheduled for production.
- Holiday Buffer: The new timeline includes a buffer for expected slowdowns during upcoming holidays (Christmas, New Year’s, and Lunar New Year).
Here are the key takeaways from the Game Bub December manufacturing progress report:
Display Changes
- Initial Issues: The original LCDs had significant color calibration issues and non-square pixel pitch, which caused the image to appear slightly stretched horizontally. The manufacturer was unable to provide necessary support or calibration data.
- New Component: A new display has been selected that offers improved color reproduction and square pixel pitch.
- Variable Refresh Rate: The new screen supports a variable refresh rate (60 Hz +/- 10%), allowing the device to match the non-standard refresh rates of retro consoles (e.g., Game Boy at ~59.73 Hz) without stutter or tearing.
- Impact: Testing and integrating the new display required an additional round of prototyping, contributing to the shipping delay.
Enclosure Manufacturing
- Design Updates: The switch to a new display module required changes to the enclosure’s dimensions.
- Process: The team is using injection molding for mass production.
- Engineering Support: A specialist mechanical engineer has been hired to refine the internal design for manufacturability, ensuring the molds work correctly and reducing the risk of defects later.
Software & Hardware Improvements
- Software: The delay provides extra time to fix game bugs and improve system stability while the mechanical design is finalized.
- Hardware: The additional prototyping round allows the team to implement hardware improvements that could not be finished in time for the original campaign.
You can find the full update here.
Does the new screen still require that in my opinion ugly thick bezel?
And now that they have the time due to the delay…just add in L2/R2 buttons. I’m ok with it if they are inline instead of stacked.
Those two things were the only reason why I didn’t pre-order this, but mainly the display’s bezel though.
Nothing was said about newscreen reducing the bezels. At least from what I could make out.