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RetroAchievements notification sound not working on Xbox UWP (v1.22.2) #18965

@JS-Project-X

Description

@JS-Project-X

Is there an existing issue for this?

  • This is a bug in RetroArch frontend
  • I have searched the existing issues

Description

Title: RetroAchievements notification sound not working on Xbox UWP (v1.22.2)

Description:
RetroAchievements notifications appear normally on screen, but no sound is played when unlocking achievements.

Platform:
Xbox Series S/X (UWP)

RetroArch Version:
1.22.2

Steps to reproduce:

  1. Enable RetroAchievements
  2. Enable achievement notifications and sound
  3. Launch a game with achievements
  4. Unlock an achievement

Expected behavior:
A sound should play when an achievement is unlocked.

Actual behavior:
The notification appears on screen normally, but no sound is played when the achievement is unlocked.

Additional info:

  • Game audio works normally
  • Notification popup works correctly
  • Only the achievement unlock sound is missing
  • Menu sounds may also not work
  • Assets are updated (unlock.ogg present)
  • Audio mixer enabled
  • Issue seems specific to Xbox UWP build

Extra notes from user:
Hello friends, your work is amazing, I really appreciate everything you do.
I would really like if you could fix the achievement sound bug on Xbox.

The notification appears on screen normally, but the sound when unlocking achievements does not play.
This sound is one of the best parts of achievements, and without it the experience does not feel complete.

It would also be amazing if we could customize the notification sound — that would be a great feature if it could return on Xbox.

I’ve been waiting for this fix for years because achievements feel much better with sound.
This issue seems to happen only on Xbox.

I use your builds and I also compile RetroArch for Xbox myself, and everything else is working very well.

Also reporting:

  • In version 1.22.2 everything works fine except this issue
  • This bug may possibly be fixed in newer versions like 1.22.3, but needs confirmation
  • DX12 driver runs Wii WAD games correctly
  • DX11 driver does not run Wii WADs
  • PS2 (PCSX2 core) works only on DX11
  • Switching drivers (DX12 ↔ DX11) may cause black screen on Xbox

Tested with multiple cores and games.

Game audio works normally.
Only achievement notification sound does not play.

This seems to be related to UI audio or audio mixer not triggering on Xbox UWP.
Thank you for your incredible work — what you’ve built with RetroArch is pure nostalgia.

Expected behavior

No response

Steps to reproduce the bug

  1. Open RetroArch on Xbox (UWP)
  2. Go to Settings → Achievements and enable RetroAchievements
  3. Enable achievement notifications and sound
  4. Go to Settings → Audio and enable Audio + Audio Mixer
  5. Update assets (Online Updater → Update Assets)
  6. Launch any game that supports RetroAchievements
  7. Play until unlocking an achievement

Result:
The notification appears normally on screen, but no sound is played when the achievement is unlocked.

Version/Commit

1.22.2 (Xbox UWP)

Bisect Results

I am not sure if this worked correctly in older versions. From my experience, achievement notification sound has not been reliable on Xbox UWP builds for a long time. The issue is confirmed in version 1.22.2, and may still be present in newer versions like 1.22.3. This seems to be specific to the Xbox UWP environment.

Present in the nightly version

I don't know

Platform & operating system

XBOX UWP

Affected Cores

Tested with multiple cores (e.g., SNES, Genesis, PlayStation). The issue is not specific to any single core. Achievement notifications appear normally, but the sound does not play regardless of the core used. This suggests the problem is related to RetroArch frontend (UI/audio system), not a specific core.

Environment information

Environment:

  • Platform: Xbox Series S/X (UWP environment)
  • RetroArch Version: 1.22.2
  • Installation: UWP build running on Xbox
  • Audio: Game audio works normally
  • UI/Notification: Visual notifications work correctly, but no sound is played
  • Assets: Updated (unlock.ogg present)
  • Audio Mixer: Enabled

Additional notes:

  • Issue appears to be specific to Xbox UWP environment
  • Not related to a specific core
  • Notification popup works, only sound is missing
  • Possible issue with UI audio/mixer initialization on UWP

Relevant log output

No relevant log output available.

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