The story of NetherSX2 is intrinsically linked to its predecessor, AetherSX2. AetherSX2 was a revolutionary PlayStation 2 emulator for Android, developed by a single programmer known as "Tahlreth." Its release was met with immense excitement from the emulation community, as it offered a level of performance and compatibility previously unheard of on mobile devices.
It allowed users to play their favorite PS2 games on their phones and tablets with remarkable accuracy, turning a once-unfeasible dream into a reality. Tahlreth's work was widely praised, and AetherSX2 quickly became the gold standard for PS2 emulation on Android.However, this golden age was short-lived. In late 2022, Tahlreth, citing harassment and burnout, announced that he would be stepping back from AetherSX2 development.
He disabled future updates, added an in-app advertisement, and in his final update, introduced a feature that many in the community saw as a form of protest—a "timebomb" that would periodically force the app to restart, disrupting the user's gameplay. This decision sparked outrage among a community that had come to rely on the emulator and its ongoing improvements.
The sudden end to development and the introduction of a disruptive "feature" created a void that a passionate segment of the community felt compelled to fill.This void led to the birth of NetherSX2. A group of community members, unwilling to let the project die or to be held hostage by what they saw as a hostile update, took it upon themselves to "fork" the AetherSX2 codebase.
A fork, in software development, is a new version of a program created by taking the original source code and developing it independently. Their primary goal was clear: remove the "timebomb," disable the ads, and continue the development of the emulator to fix bugs and improve performance.
The name "NetherSX2" was chosen to symbolize its creation from the "nether" or "underground" of the original project. This act marked a significant moment in the emulation community, highlighting the tension between a developer's rights and a user community's desire for a stable, ongoing project.