One of my favourite handhelds of 2024 was the Game Kiddy Pixel, an adorable miniature handheld made of metal that can emulate a wide range of retro games including Playstation 1, Game Boy, and more.
It’s incredibly well designed, supports an easy to use UI that combines with the remarkable build quality and looks as if its fell out of a Gundams pocket. The only real issue with this device is that it wasn’t made in mass quantities.
Still to this day its incredibly hard to purchase from official retailers, and is increasing in price on marketplaces due to demand. The lack of units being sold now makes sense, it’s because GKD have been working on a new handheld known as the Game Kiddy Pixel 2.
We spoke with RetroCN who has well established contacts throughout China, and has been our go-to contact for all things Game Kiddy. Rex, informed us that “the GKD Pixel 2 is coming, is in development and domestic pre-orders will open up as early as next week”.
International pre-orders still hasn’t got a specific date, but from my experience these open up a few weeks after if the demand is strong, which I guarantee it will be. The original version has sold like hot cakes.
So, what does it look like? What’s new?
The only images we have as of now are taken by the creator Lao Zhang. He has shared images of the backs of two GKD Pixel 2’s, in comparison with the original GKD Pixel.
The most obvious change is that the Pixel 2 is actually thicker, meaning it will have a fair few drastic changes in terms of specifications. Rex has confirmed that the GKD Pixel 2 will feature a slightly better screen, this has also been confirmed by Lao Zhang.
Not only that, it will feature a faster SoC offering PSP emulation and sleep mode, which is a huge jump compared to the original. Although, myself personally, I will rarely use PSP emulation on a screen this small, but its there and it showcases what this could do, meaning Nintendo 64 and Dreamcast emulation could also be possible.
The GKD Pixel 2 will be priced similar to the original upon release, which is roughly $69.99 – $79.99 depending on what retailers you purchase it from, and it will come in a number of colour variants, according to Rex: Black, Green, Red, Purple and a Limited Edition Gold Cyberpunk themed colour-way, which I can imagine will be similar to the limited edition purple GKD Pixel 1.
The colours maybe slightly different compared to the originals, as its hard for the GKD team to create exact colour matches due to the way the metal oxidation works, but it will be a close match for sure, and the new Gold Limited Edition colour-way excites me too, even though it’s going to be hard to get hold of.
And, on that note I really do hope that GKD can make more of these. This handheld is in high demand and I know a lot of retro gamers and collectors who couldn’t get their hands on one because of the shortage. Yes, now and then stock comes up for grabs, but China usually gets first dibs and the rest makes its way to retailers that sell out fast.
I am welcoming this device with open arms, it’s a truly remarkable little device and I hope the second iteration can go into the hands of retro gamers who have been waiting patiently for re-stocks.
I’ll also try my hardest to get a sample to review, Game Kiddy have been good to us in the past, and so has KeepRetro, so my fingers are crossed that I can get you all an in-depth look. I’ll also keep you all update with when pre-orders go live, so make sure to follow us on socials.
