GB-Link USB V2 is a hardware adapter that connects an original Game Boy link-cable to a web browser over USB. It brings classic link-cable multiplayer online, so you can link up with other players without sitting in the same room. Plug the adapter into your console’s link port, connect it to a computer or an Android phone, and connect through a web browser. There are no drivers or software required and no app to download.

GB-Link USB V2 is made to work with original Game Boy hardware and also works with FPGA clones with link support. The adapter also opens up a set of free web tools that add features the original hardware never had, such as sending multiboot homebrew and printing Game Boy Camera photos to your computer.

Take Your Vintage Handheld Online

Some of the most loved Game Boy games were built around the link cable. Pokémon trading and battling, Tetris and Dr. Mario head-to-head, and many other multiplayer modes all depend on two consoles wired together. The catch has always been logistics. You need a second player, a second console, the right cartridges, and a link cable, all in the same place at the same time. For hardware this old, that gets harder every year.

GB-Link USB V2 removes the location requirement. Connect your console to a friend across the world and play in real time. Some games even gate features behind a link connection that a single player cannot reach alone, such as completing a Pokédex that depends on trade-only evolutions. The companion web tools go a step further and do things the cable alone never could, like backing up a cartridge save before it is lost or printing Game Boy Camera photos straight to your screen. The goal is simple: keep these games playable, together, long into the future.

Features & Specifications

Core Hardware

• MCU: Raspberry Pi RP2040 (dual-core Arm Cortex-M0+)
• Generic link cable included, compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Advance games
• USB Type-C connection to a host computer or Android phone
• Power: bus-powered over USB
• RGB status LED with customized per-mode colors and brightness, saved to the adapter
• Onboard button for manual firmware flashing

Physical Details

• Assembled unit in a protective case with a physical Game Boy link port: 29.2 × 42.5 mm (1.1 × 1.7 in) 8.5 g (0.3 oz)
• Generic link cable included with each device ~120 cm (4 ft) in length, ~30 g (1 oz)

Device Compatibility

• Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance consoles, through the standard link port
• Compatible FPGA consoles, including the Analogue Pocket, Chromatic, Game Bub
• Because it relies on a physical link port, it does not work with software emulators or emulation handhelds
• Works in Chrome and Firefox on the desktop, and in Chrome on Android
• Browser communication over WebSerial and WebUSB, with no drivers required
• Guaranteed compatibility with included link cable across all games and consoles.

More information about compatibility is available on the GB-Link USB V2 GitHub page.

Companion Web Applications

While not every game and application is supported additional games and tools continue to be added as interest in the project expands. This growing set of free, applications run entirely in the browser, with no drivers or installation. The GB-Link launcher opens all of them in one place, checks your adapter’s firmware, updates it with a single click, and customizes the status LED. Launcher can also update the device firmware entirely through the web browser without any need for manual downloading or flashing.

• Tetris, Dr. Mario, and Yoshi online 1v1 or create a lobby to play with 2+ other people in battle royal style match
• Advance Wars 1 and 2 (GBA), for online matches and sharing custom maps
• Pokémon Generation 3 (GBA) native battling, trading, and record mixing
• Pokémon trading for Generations 1, 2, and 3
• Send Game Boy Advance multiboot homebrew, for loading multiboot homebrew without a flash cart
• Game Boy Printer link, for printing to your computer screen to save Game Boy Camera photos as image files, also supports any game that has Game Boy Printer Support
• GB Cart Doctor, for backing up and restoring GB/GBC cartridge ROMs and saves on a Game Boy Advance (Requires OEM GBA)
• GB-Link Launcher, for updating firmware through web browser and configuring adapter settings as well as an updated list of web applications

Open Source

GB-Link grew out of a number of open source projects. All aspects of the device are open source and will continue to be open source moving forward.

• Firmware: Open source under the GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPL v3.0). Built on the Zephyr real-time operating system for the RP2040. Available at the GB-Link Firmware repository.
• Web clients and launcher: Available now in the GB-Link organization on GitHub. The game and utility clients are released under GPL v3.0.
• Hardware: The PCB and case design files, including schematics, layout, and bill of materials, will be publicly released under the CERN-OHL-S v2 license once the first units ship. PCB Designed in KiCad. Case designed in FreeCad.

The firmware and all web tools are public now. To take part, open issues or pull requests on GitHub, or join the GB-Link Discord, or follow the GB-Link channel on YouTube. The project home is gblink.io.

Besides our core team members, we also want to acknowledge many others who contributed to the project and community over time. This includes but is not limited to Stacksmashing (who open-sourced the original Tetris implementation) as well as Lorenzooone (who made the first CLI implementation for generation 1-2 trading online) and many others who helped with contributing/testing over the last several years of development. The Goppier local trade device also inspired work on connecting the GBA through the use of an MCU.

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