► BECOME A BETA TESTER

Want to help test MaLa v2.0? Beta testing is open to cabinet owners with a working MaLa setup, and new testers are being added gradually.

⚠ The BYOAC forum may be down. It has been unreliable lately. If it won’t load, email malatesters@malafe.net instead.
  1. Email malatesters@malafe.net — or reply on the MaLa v2.0 thread on the BYOAC Forum, if it’s up.
  2. Include your setup: Windows version, emulators, and any LED or LCD hardware.
  3. You’ll get a reply with the details.
✉ Email to join Forum thread

MaLa v2.0 is for Windows 7, 10 and 11. On Windows XP or older, please use MaLa v1.9.

► CURRENT PROJECT STATUS MaLa v2.0 is currently in development. Focus: Delphi 13 migration, stability improvements, and modern Windows 10/11 compatibility. No date has been set for the final v2.0 release; Beta testing began in September 2026 with an initial group of testers.

→ See the WIP page for details
► WHERE MALA IS HEADING
Available now
MaLa 1.9 (Windows XP and older) and MaLa 1.74. Download
Coming soon
MaLa 2.0: a strong, stable foundation for Windows 7, 10 and 11. WIP page
Beyond 2.0
Multi-monitor, more hardware, a Linux version and more. Roadmap

What is MaLa?

MaLa is a 32-bit Windows application and is widely used on both 32-bit and 64-bit Windows systems. It supports the Windows command-line version of MAME with XML ROM info (> 0.84), PC Games, and all command-line based emulators. MaLa v2.0 is being rebuilt for modern Windows (7, 10 and 11) while retaining the familiar MaLa experience. MaLa v1.9 is the final version of MaLa 1.x, for Windows XP and older.

Who needs MaLa?

Anyone who wants to launch MAME and other games from an interface that does not look like Windows, can be controlled with arcade controls, is simple and versatile to suit your cab — and gets you playing the games you love quickly.

Features

Rotatable in any direction (0°, 90°, 180°, 270°) on the fly
Arcade controller support with configurable settings for all front-end functions
Controller detection: rotate and load game list depending on controls touched
On-the-fly programming of keyboard encoders
Mouse support for trackballs, spinners and dials
Virtual shift — full control with fewer physical controls
Keyboard hook & hotkeys — no wrappers needed
Hardware support: IOWarrior Hardware (LED + LCD), Ultimarc PacDrive, BetaBrite, serial LCD, GGG LEDWiz, UltraStik360
LED Attract mode
Comprehensive game list filtering with memorised filter sets
Plugin system — build your own in C++ or Delphi
No INI file editing — everything configured through the UI
Loadman MAME Table