FunnyPlaying‘s mini Game Boy project has surfaced in a shared video and image, showing a miniaturised DMG-style handheld that accepts physical Game Boy cartridges and can also run ROM files from a TF Card. No pricing, specifications or release date have been confirmed; the company’s only statement so far is that they plan to ‘soon launch a new game console.’
What the FunnyPlaying Mini Game Boy Shows So Far
The device, possibly going by the name Retro Pixel MiniGB, is shaped like a shrunken Game Boy DMG, scaled down to roughly the width of a cartridge itself. From the footage, the display appears to be a backlit, coloured screen, and the insertion of a Game Boy Color cartridge in the video suggests compatibility with both original Game Boy and Game Boy Color software. FunnyPlaying has not yet officially announced the device, so everything beyond what is visible in that video remains unconfirmed.
The button layout follows the original DMG design closely. The D-pad, angled Start and Select buttons, and the slanted speaker grille on the lower right are all present, though the action buttons appear somewhat smaller than on a standard DMG. A menu button opens an emulation interface that lets users load ROMs from a TF Card, with options to save and load states on the fly. A settings screen offers brightness, volume, fastboot, and further customisation options.
The author at RetroDodo, who received the preview material, is clear that several elements, including the probable screen size of around 2.6 inches, remain personal speculation rather than confirmed fact. FunnyPlaying is still responding to questions, and samples are expected to go out to media over the coming weeks.
FunnyPlaying’s History With Handhelds and Game Boy Hardware
FunnyPlaying is well known in modding circles for shells, IPS screen kits, and replacement parts, but their original hardware efforts go back further than many realise. According to Retro Handhelds, the company originally released a handheld called the Retro Pixel Pocket in 2023, running Android 7.1 on an Allwinner A64 processor. That device was eventually discontinued, with button issues cited as a key problem.
Retro Handhelds also reports that FunnyPlaying returned to the Retro Pixel Pocket concept in 2025, this time releasing it as a Linux device built around the RK3326, a chip that will be familiar to anyone who has spent time with the Anbernic RG351 line or similar handhelds from that era. The move from Android to Linux, and from the Allwinner A64 to the RK3326, reflects a wider shift in the budget handheld space toward more open, community-supported platforms.
Beyond standalone handhelds, FunnyPlaying also released the FPGBC, an FPGA-based console kit covering Game Boy and Game Boy Color hardware, according to Retro Handhelds. The FPGBC puts FunnyPlaying firmly in FPGA territory, which makes the new cartridge-compatible mini DMG project all the more interesting: whether it uses emulation, FPGA logic, or a hybrid approach for cartridge playback has not yet been disclosed.
The report of a 2023 RetroPixel in the original reporting refers to a GBA Pocket-style Linux device priced at $50, alongside a Game Boy Color-shaped version. The Retro Pixel MiniGB, if that name sticks, would sit alongside those as a third distinct form factor, this one leaning hardest into the nostalgia of the original 1989 DMG design.
FunnyPlaying says samples will go to media in the coming weeks, at which point hands-on impressions should answer the remaining questions around build quality, display brightness, and how well the cartridge reader performs across the GB and GBC library.
