Evercade just gave us a closer look at the Nexus hardware

Evercade has released a new deep-dive video detailing the hardware features of the upcoming Nexus handheld. The console was originally announced months ago, but this new footage provides a much clearer picture of what the device actually does ahead of its October 2026 launch.

I already got my pre-order in. Evercade carts are my favorite thing to collect, and the ecosystem has been steadily expanding from 8-bit and 16-bit arcade ports into the early 3D era. The Nexus is built to handle those 32-bit and 64-bit games.

Bigger screen, more sticks

The most obvious physical change is the display. The Nexus uses a 5.89-inch IPS screen that pushes over 500 nits of brightness. According to Evercade Head of Communications Sean Cleaver, that makes it about five times brighter than their standard displays. It is a direct response to community requests for better visibility without making the entire unit too bulky to carry around.

Below that screen are dual analog sticks. Previous Evercade handhelds relied heavily on D-pads, which worked fine for the Sega Genesis and SNES collections. Moving into the PlayStation 1 and Nintendo 64 catalogs requires proper analog control. The system also includes a textured grip to make longer sessions more comfortable.

One cartridge, two consoles

The video highlights a new wireless local multiplayer system called EverSync. Two Nexus consoles can connect directly to each other without cables or an internet connection. The best part is that it only requires one physical game cartridge to work. You just share the game from the host console to the second player.

Local multiplayer has always been a sticking point for retro handhelds. Getting two devices to talk to each other usually involves digging through RetroArch netplay settings and matching ROM hashes. A built-in, frictionless option is a massive upgrade.

The smaller details

The hardware includes a few other quality-of-life additions. It supports wireless headphones, but it still keeps the 3.5mm headphone jack. It also includes WiFi 6 for faster system updates and an RGB light-up logo that you can customize in the menus.

TATE mode makes a return here as well. A dedicated button flips the display orientation so you can play vertical arcade shooters the way they were originally designed. The battery is rated for over five hours of playtime.

The Evercade Nexus costs $199.99 in the US, £169.99 in the UK, and €199.99 in Europe. Pre-orders opened back in April, and the hardware ships this October. The full breakdown is available via Evercade's video presentation.