You can now use the Game Boy Camera with your phone

• Tech
• Gadgets
• Gaming

You can now use the Game Boy Camera with your phone

A new mobile app for the GB Operator lets you snap terrible 2-bit, 128 x112 photos without the need for a Game Boy.

A new mobile app for the GB Operator lets you snap terrible 2-bit, 128 x112 photos without the need for a Game Boy.

by Andrew LiszewskiJun 18, 2026, 8:22 PM UTC

• Link
• Share
• Gift

If you buy something from a Verge link, Vox Media may earn a commission. See our ethics statement.

Image: EpilogueAndrew Liszewski is a senior reporter who’s been covering and reviewing the latest gadgets and tech since 2006, but has loved all things electronic since he was a kid.

The $50 GB Operator is an accessory that lets you connect, play, and authenticate Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance cartridges on PCs and other devices. Now it’s getting some new functionality for the Game Boy Camera. After turning the Game Boy Camera into a charmingly awful desktop webcam two years ago, device-maker Epilogue has just released an iOS/Android mobile app so you can take photos while the Game Boy accessory is connected to your smartphone through the GB Operator.

The Game Boy Camera was a terrible camera even by 1998 standards when it was released. It captured 0.01434-megapixel images in just four shades of gray and images were trapped on your Game Boy unless you printed them or bought a third-party cable to extract them. But it was accessible and affordable at $90, which is also part of the appeal of Epilogue’s solution to using the camera with modern devices.

Image: Epilogue

The GB Operator isn’t free, but paired with the new Flashback app and your phone it’s a cheaper alternative to devices like the $240 Analogue Pocket that also work with the Game Boy Camera. The app reads the data straight from the Game Boy Camera’s aging Mitsubishi M64282FP sensor so the images you capture with the accessory attached look exactly the same as they would have decades ago. But the app’s experience is better than what was offered on the original Game Boy with options to make adjustments to settings like shutter speed, gain, exposure, sharpness, dither, and grain, plus the ability to apply one of 32 different color palettes.

If you don’t own a Game Boy Camera or the GB Operator, Epilogue’s Flashback app also features a software mode that simulates the accessory’s capabilities. Photos captured by your smartphone’s camera are processed and output as low-res 128 x 112-pixel images with dithering and a minimal color palette. When using the real Game Boy Camera hardware or the app’s simulation mode, images you create are stored in your phone’s Camera Roll so they’re easily accessible and shareable.

Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.

• Andrew Liszewski
• Gadgets
• Gaming
• News
• Tech

Most Popular

Most Popular

1. Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans
2. Apple’s weird anti-nausea dots cured my car sickness
3. Amazon employees say they’re facing termination for backing data center limits
4. This robotic self-driving toilet comes to you
5. This Ghost in the Shell keyboard makes me want to activate the hundred spidery robot fingers inside my regular fingers

The Verge Daily

A free daily digest of the news that matters most.

Email (required)Sign UpBy submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Advertiser Content From

This is the title for the native ad

More in Tech

Snap’s Specs look good on nobodyThis robotic self-driving toilet comes to youFirefox’s new home page widgets are helping me focusThe Onion’s rebooted InfoWars is coming July 2ndAmazon employees say they’re facing termination for backing data center limitsGoogle Calendar finally has more color options for eventsSnap’s Specs look good on nobodyDavid PierceJun 18This robotic self-driving toilet comes to youAndrew LiszewskiJun 18Firefox’s new home page widgets are helping me focusStevie BonifieldJun 18The Onion’s rebooted InfoWars is coming July 2ndMia SatoJun 18Amazon employees say they’re facing termination for backing data center limitsHayden FieldJun 18Google Calendar finally has more color options for eventsJess WeatherbedJun 18Advertiser Content From

This is the title for the native ad

Top Stories

Jun 18Amazon employees say they’re facing termination for backing data center limitsJun 18This Ghost in the Shell keyboard feels like it came from animeJun 18Who decides when AI is too dangerous?VideoJun 18The midterms are going to be a data security nightmareJun 18Midjourney goes from generating cat images to full-body ultrasound scans