Palmer Luckey’s retro gaming startup ModRetro reportedly seeks funding at $1B valuation

Source: TechCrunch

Overview

Posted: 2:26 PM PDT · March 8, 2026

Image credit: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg / Getty Images

Funding Round

ModRetro, the vintage‑gaming startup founded by Palmer Luckey, is in talks to raise capital at a $1 billion valuation, according to the Financial Times【https://www.ft.com/content/77e330a5-8e59-4a36-b08b-c18010a2383b】.

Product Spotlight: The Chromatic

• Launched in 2024, the Chromatic is a Game Boy‑style handheld.
• The Verge’s Sean Hollister called it “might be the best version of the Game Boy ever made,” while noting the difficulty of separating the device from Luckey’s reputation as the founder of defense‑tech startup Anduril Industries【https://www.theverge.com/24303052/modretro-chromatic-review-game-boy-color-handheld-palmer-luckey】.

“If Lockheed Martin made a Game Boy, would you buy one?” – Sean Hollister

Luckey explained that he had been working on a Game Boy‑inspired device “off and on as a hobby for almost seventeen years now,” describing the Chromatic as the result of “hundreds of irrational decisions” that made it “an uncompromisingly authentic celebration of everything that made the console special.”【https://modretro.com/blogs/blog/the-future-is-retro?srsltid=AfmBOopyIZTaOr4YEIR3XJad6q7vGdeqWi4Sewmz7q1eZJooG5AKioQ-】

Future Devices

The FT reports that ModRetro is also developing other retro hardware, including a device designed to replicate the Nintendo 64.

Parallel Developments at Anduril

• The Trump administration appears to have embraced Luckey’s vision for autonomous weapons【https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/02/technology/pentagon-anduril-palmer-luckey.html】.
• Anduril is reportedly in talks to raise a new funding round at a $60 billion valuation【https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/03/anduril-aims-at-60-billion-valuation-in-new-funding-round/】.