After nine years without a desktop release, the ePSXe team shipped v2.0.18 for Windows on December 23, 2025. This is the complete, sourced changelog — taken from the official announcement on epsxe.com — and what each change means if you are upgrading from 2.0.5.
The headline changes
- CHD support for ISOs. ePSXe can now load games in the CHD (Compressed Hunks of Data) format — one compressed file per disc instead of sprawling multi-track BIN sets. Our CHD conversion guide shows how to convert your own rips.
- DPI Awareness. A new Options toggle that fixes blurry menus and scaling problems on high-resolution displays when it was previously disabled.
- A crash fix. Reading the configuration could close the emulator if the overclock value was not selected; that is fixed.
Sound and compatibility work
The SPUCORE sound core received improved reverb and volume management, with named fixes in Ghost in the Shell, Dino Crisis 1 & 2, Wipeout, DW7 and DQ4. Compatibility improvements cover Starfighter Sanvein, Need for Speed III/IV, Kagero Deception II, Captain Commando, Valkyrie Profile, Street Scooters, Metal Gear Solid – Special Missions (its disc swap specifically), V-Rally 2 (JAP) and Samurai Shodown III. HLE BIOS support improved for Groove Adventure Rave – Mikan no Hiseki and SimCity Japan.
Should you upgrade from 2.0.5?
Yes — it is a drop-in replacement for almost everyone, and it is the only desktop build receiving fixes. The package is freeware from the official site (verify it with the SHA-256 on our download page). Your memory cards (.mcr) carry over; save states from 2.0.5 should be treated as disposable — finish or convert progress to memory-card saves before switching if a state matters to you. Note what 2.0.18 is not: the executable is still a 32-bit program (which runs fine on 64-bit Windows), and there is no matching 2.0.18 for Linux or macOS — those platforms’ story is in our Linux and Mac guides.
Where it fits in the timeline
v2.0.5 (June 2016) was the desktop’s last word for nine years, which is why so much ePSXe advice online describes a much older emulator. The full sequence is on the version history page, and our Windows setup guide is written for 2.0.18 specifically.