Arcade emulator software MAME goes open-source

Long-running emulation project MAME (Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) has transitioned to open-source availability after nearly two decades of existence.

Popular among video game archivists and retro enthusiasts for its ability to emulate titles from the 1970s up until the modern day, the software was previously released under a modified BSD licence forbidding commercial use.

Engineer Miodrag Milanovic previously told Gamasutra that the restrictions were put in place to limit the use of the platform for piracy, as well as legally stopping museums charging fees to show MAME in game exhibitions.

“After 19 years, MAME is now available under an OSI-compliant and FSF-approved license,” the group behind the software, MAMEdev.org, announced.

“We have spent the last 10 months trying to contact all people that contributed to MAME as developers and external contributors and get information about desired license.”

Milanovic added: “There was intention to do this for years.

“Our aim is to help legal license owners in distributing their games based on MAME platform, and to make MAME become a learning tool for developers working on development boards.”