LaunchBox for Windows 13.27 Released!

[AstroBob]

Version 13.27 - Released May 13th 2026

Release Summary

Release Summary: https://feedback.launchbox.gg/changelog/launchbox-for-windows-1327

Full Changelog: https://www.launchbox-app.com/about/changelog

 

New Features:

• LaunchBox and Big Box now include major RetroAchievements expansions with richer Game Details support, beaten/mastered and playtime commitment visibility, improved achievement profile stats, improved Dolphin integration, and broader default theme support
• RetroAchievements can now be filtered in Big Box and Pause views, making it easier to browse and focus on the achievements you care about
• Big Box Hybrid views now have their own dedicated search behavior, keeping searches scoped to the current platform or playlist instead of kicking you out to a global search
• Save Management has been significantly expanded with better save tracking, automatic backups, backup-on-close options, backup limits, manual backup scans, and save version history tools, including expanded support for Dolphin and PCSX2 save tracking across Nintendo GameCube, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo WiiWare, and Sony Playstation 2, plus better support for the Mednafen Saturn core
• The Welcome Wizard import experience has been overhauled with staged progress, clearer status messaging, improved retry handling, and much better visibility into what LaunchBox is doing during first-time imports
• The Welcome Wizard now supports media download limits and persistent image download queues, giving you more control over setup-time media downloads
• Xbox 360 imports now support default.xex and Games on Demand formats across all import workflows
• LaunchBox now includes video playback controls for a better in-app video viewing experience
• Added RetroAchievements support for WiiWare titles when using Dolphin
• Manage Emulators now includes an “Open Emulator” context menu option for quickly launching the selected emulator directly from the list
• Big Box now includes a new “Show Playlist Actions” option for the game menu, giving you control over whether playlist actions appear in the game options menu
• Local metadata package refreshes now use SHA-256 verification with retry handling and clearer staged progress, replacing the previous longer validation flow with a faster and more reliable process

 

Improvements:

• Ubisoft imports have been refined with better product filtering, name cleanup, and settings handling for a more reliable import experience
• Xbox storefront importing has seen some reliability improvements with lookups, caching, and import handling
• Fullscreen image viewing has been improved with pixel-perfect integer scaling, image detail labels, and better fullscreen monitor behavior
• Related Games and Game Details performance have been improved by deferring expensive loading until needed
• 3D model viewing, carousel browsing, and media list performance have been improved for smoother browsing in media-heavy views
• Updated Dolphin integration to better support newer versions
• Improved ROM prioritization when combining multiple versions of the same game during import, using a smarter ranking pipeline to better select the ideal default ROM
• Extract ROMs now preserves the original archive folder name inside the temp directory, improving save path consistency in emulators such as RetroArch
• FinalBurn Neo importer now automatically unchecks Extract ROMs for the emulator associated platform to prevent unnecessary extraction
• LaunchBox system tray support is now free for all users, with options to always show the tray icon, minimize to tray, and close to tray
• Added a new option to disable the dynamic Play button and use a static Play button instead
• The All Games section will now properly update to match the selected LaunchBox language
• Big Box popup and plugin badge handling has been made more reliable
• EmuMovies authentication and media download flows have been improved with more reliable login gating, retry handling, and messaging

 

Fixed:

• Steam trailer downloads have been restored with updated handling for Steam’s newer streamed trailer delivery, along with better trailer selection, improved fallback handling, and broader MP4 compatibility across imports and media downloads
• GOG media downloads now work reliably for icons, posters, and screenshots
• Like and unlike support now works correctly for Themes and Media Packs in the Media Manager, making it easier to give feedback on community-created downloads directly from LaunchBox
• Automatic ROM imports now better respect disabled auto-import settings and more reliably avoid creating duplicate games or duplicate additional apps when scanning for new ROMs
• Improved Big Box video playback stability when using FFMPEG, resolving rare crashes related to video disposal and media cleanup
• Crashes in Big Box when navigating between views with Windows Media Player video playback enabled
• Issue where auto play music could cause the UI to lock up after Big Box opened
• Big Box no longer keeps reloading new instances of the same System Menu
• Big Box now behaves better when screensaver timing overlaps with popups and other overlays
• Bulk Edit Wizard issue that could trigger a crash style error while applying or finishing changes
• LaunchBox no longer crashes if the emulator name is empty and you tab out of the field
• The License page no longer crashes due to overlapping links
• The Options menu has been hardened against scenarios where it could fail to open
• Potential null reference issue when saving a new emulator
• The bundled Xbox - White controller input pack no longer incorrectly reports that an update is available
• Operation Wolf now correctly shows MAME High Score support

[Maddoc1007]

• LaunchBox now includes video playback controls for a better in-app video viewing experience

Is there a way to turn off this feature it is very obtrusive and not really needed as you already have control, click once on the video to pause and click once again to unpause the video in the details pane on Launchbox, also by clicking on the arrows it already fullscreens the video.   Duplicating this process is not necessary, can there be an option to turn off this in options but leaving the old legacy way still working??

[spycat]

I'm now on 13.27 and the List View missing headers issue in LaunchBox appears to be still unresolved.
Closing LaunchBox (List View active) and then restarting LaunchBox opens in List View but with the headers missing.
Switching to Images View and then reverting back to List View restores the headers.
Testing done using the default theme.

[JaredN]

Hello @AstroBob

Unfortunately, “unexpected” crashes are still a common occurrence for me in this version when I use FFmpeg. They've been happening ever since FFmpeg was implemented.

On my old PC with an RTX 3060 Ti, on my “new” PC with a clean install—sharing no components with the first one—and an RTX 5060 Ti, and on my Legion GO, which shares NOTHING in terms of hardware or peripherals with my desktop PCs (AMD vs. Intel/Nvidia), with or without antivirus enabled (BitDefender).

I also reinstalled LB “from scratch,” without using my old config files and by reimporting all my ROMs. I have no plugins installed other than those ‘required’ by LB/BB for emulator management, and I don’t use any “exotic” themes—only those provided by BB.

Other than that, my system (Windows 11 Home) is up to date, as are my drivers.

I’m using an external Crucial SSD on my desktop PC, but I also tried installing LB/BB on my main internal SSD (Samsung 990 PRO), and it didn’t make any difference!

I’m switching back to WMP, which seems to be working pretty well for now.

Thanks anyway for all your hard work !

BB.evtx