Skip to content 
We’ve covered the quirky handheld PlayDate console previously, reporting on a point-and-click title called Déjà Vu, and on a fan port of Prince of Persia.
Thanks to a PlayDate developer going simply by the name of Adam, it’s now possible to play ZX Spectrum games on the PlayDate (albeit 48K games only), via a new ZX Spectrum emulator by the name of SpeccyDate. The file formats supported by SpeccyDate are: .sna, .z80, .tap and .tzx files, and the emulator even pauses on loading screens so that you can view them.
Adam states that: “Several common control profiles are available from the emulator options,” and the emulator also offers a movable on-screen ZX Spectrum keyboard, which can be accessed during gameplay with one full turn of the PlayDate’s crank.
Your ZX Spectrum 48K ROMs (that are backups of games that you legally own, of course) can be uploaded to the PlayDate by connecting the console to a PC via USB.
If you’re particularly concerned about AI involvement, you might like to know that Adam has disclosed that he has used AI in the development of SpeccyDate, but only to, as he puts it, “help to iron out a really annoying bug.”
Although SpeccyDate is still in development, it was made available to download yesterday (July 19, 2026), via itch.io.
