3DS Emulator Citra Is Coming To Meta Quest Next Week

The popular open-source 3DS emulator Citra is making its way to the Meta Quest platform as a native OpenXR application called CitraVR on January 20th, 2024.

As reported by UploadVR, the application will launch in beta on SideQuest and GitHub, skipping Steam as a result of the Dolphin emulator's legal issues. Users will be able to play 3DS titles legally by dumping their games through a hacked 3DS. You can, of course, also download ROMs, though Citra itself doesn't endorse doing so.

I’m thrilled to announce the beta release of CitraVR — my port of the leading 3DS emulator, Citra — designed for playing 3DS homebrew and personal game backups in 3D on the go with your Quest.

It’ll support a partial list of features to start, but development is ongoing. https://t.co/EBHVjQz9nv

— Amanda Watson (@fewerwrong) January 15, 2024

You'll be able to select your games via a visible 2D panel via the Quest's home interface, but the view will then transition into a full 3DS display once you're in the game itself.

Developer Amanda Watson states that performance will vary depending on the game, and has also clarified that original Nintendo DS titles will not be supported in CitraVR. Citra had previously been made available via Android in 2020 and came packing full tilt support.