What is Homebrew for consoles?

Unlike personal computers, consoles don’t allow you to run any software you want on them. Some programmers took this as a personal challenge, and homebrew software was born. As the name suggests, Homebrew apps don’t come through official channels, but Homebrew is an important part of PC history in general, and console history in particular.

What is beer?

The term “homebrew” comes from the same origin as home-brewed alcohol, and simply means in the context of console software that the application or game in question has been written by amateurs. Actual homebrew can be anything. Simple applications like the ones you’d use on any PC, game emulators for other platforms, or full-fledged games are all examples of potential homebrew projects.

How does homebrew work?

If you want to write software for a PC or Mac, all you have to do is sit down and write the code. No one prevents you from running any program you write on your computer, or for anyone else to run that program if they want to. There are thousands of great free and/or open source applications on the web that you can download to your computer that were created in people’s bedrooms in their spare time.

Video game consoles, on the other hand, are closed systems. Only software approved by the console manufacturer can run on the device. The main reason for this is to prevent piracy. So, if you want to write a homebrew program for the console, you have to “hack” it first. In other words, protections put in place to prevent unsupported code from running on the system must be overcome.

For some consoles, this meant installing an actual mod to circumvent copy protection. For others, it may be modifying the software or downloading custom firmware. Different consoles have needed different approaches over the years. Funnily enough, if you want to run homebrew on a recent Xbox Series Developer accountWith Microsoft’s blessing, you’re good to go.

Opening the console to run any code you want is only the first step. In fact, developing software for this system can be difficult. In many cases, you need a development kit. These are special editions of the console that game developers have to purchase at a significant cost. These Development Kits allow you to write code and test it on native console hardware. This is important, since many consoles have unique builds that developers need to take care of.

Beer’s legal gray area

Unlike pirated copies of video games, homebrew software in and of itself is not illegal simply because it is a homebrew product. Getting around a console’s copy protection may be illegal in some parts of the world, and homebrew software that allows piracy may also run afoul of the law, but a game someone created as homebrew is not illegal. There’s always a risk in modifying your console to allow homebrew use, from hacking the system to being banned from online services, but the homebrew community has always had a strong following. There are even some people who buy two units of the console – one to modify and one to leave untouched, just so they can try their hand at homebrew.

Homebrew effect

Although the homebrew community is a niche and often misunderstood community, unfairly conflated with video game pirates, it is an important part of computer history. Some of the apps that many people use today, like Kodi, are direct descendants of homebrew. Likewise, homebrew was the number of software and game developers starting their businesses in this field. Homebrew has pushed forward the official emulation technology used in modern consoles, and this has officially and legally helped preserve and update many classic titles.

We’ve seen some recognition of homebrews from console makers, like the aforementioned developer mode on Xbox consoles, or independent game development programs that aim to help small game development teams put their software on consoles legally. It’s the nature of programmers to see a cool piece of hardware and want to write something for it. This will probably never change, so, as long as there are consoles, we will have some form of homebrew.