PlayStation 5 emulators
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| The original PlayStation 5 console with optical drive, and DualSense controller | |
| Developer | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sony, Foxconn |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Ninth |
| Release date | November 12, 2020 |
| Predecessor | PlayStation 4 |
| Emulated | ✗ |
- For emulators that run on PlayStation 5, see Emulators on PlayStation 5.
The PlayStation 5 (officially called shorthand PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced in 2018 as the successor to the PlayStation 4, the PS5 was released by Sony on November 12, 2020, in most countries.
The platform launched in two varieties: a base model with an Ultra HD Blu-ray-compatible optical disc drive that retailed for $499 ($621 in 2026) and a Digital Edition lacking this drive that retailed for $399 ($497 in 2026), serving as a lower-cost variant for consumers who prefer to buy games through digital download.
It uses a custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 processor running at 3.5 GHz, supported by 16 GB/256-bit GDDR6 VRAM, with 512 MB of DDR4 RAM for background tasks (also used as an SSD controller cache). It is the first PlayStation console to use an SSD by default for storage.
Sony released a more powerful mid-generation edition of the PlayStation 5, the PlayStation 5 Pro, similarly to what they did in the previous console generation.[1]
From an emulation viewpoint, the PS5 is the least interesting PlayStation ever, due to its relative lack of exclusives thanks to Sony's current stream of usually decent PC ports and the overall ease of cross-platform development, with both PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs having x86-64 CPUs and capable graphics APIs such as DirectX 12. Nonetheless, basic research is underway. The console’s architecture is very similar to that of a PS4, so a PS4 emulator may support the PS5 in the future, similarly to how Dolphin supports Wii while originally being a GameCube emulator. See #Emulation issues section for more information.
Emulators and Compatibility layers
[edit | edit source]THERE ARE CURRENTLY NO EMULATORS FOR THIS DEVICE THAT CAN RUN COMMERCIAL GAMES AND/OR SOFTWARE.
| Name | Platform(s) | Latest version | PS5 Pro | Compatibility | License | Active | Recommended | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| x86 | |||||||||
| RPCSX | 
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git | ✗ | N/A | GPLv2 (Copyleft) | ✓ | ✗ | ||
| Kyty | 
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git | ✗ | N/A | MIT (Permissive) | ✗ | ✗ | ||
Comparisons
[edit | edit source]- RPCSX
- An upcoming FLOSS emulator created by one of the original developers of RPCS3, DH, along RPCS3 current main developers Nekotekina and kd-11. It's in early stages although it can already load the PS5's Safe Mode and show the PS logo in VSH. It's the first emulator that boots Demon's Souls Remake.
- Kyty
- A compatibility layer for the PS4 and PS5 by InoriRus, the creator of Short Waves. It was in the early stages of development. Can boot some lightweight PS4 games and PS5 homebrews with graphical output.
Enhancements
[edit | edit source]| Name | N/A | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphics | Resizable Internal Resolution | ||||||||
| Texture Replacement | |||||||||
| Ultrawide hack Widescreen already supported on PlayStation 5 system. But there is no support by system for render games in other ratios such as ultrawide 21:9 or super ultrawide 32:9. |
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| Ray-tracing (DXR, VRT and MRT) |
Ray-tracing already supported on PlayStation 5. But there are ways to improve path-tracing implementation even further like increasing ray length or more rays per light source etc. | ||||||||
| Pre-rendering AA (MSAA, SSAA) |
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| Super-resolution techniques (DLSS, XeSS and FSR 2+) |
FSR 3 is already supported on PlayStation 5. On top of that the upcoming PlayStation 5 Pro revision will include support for a new super-resolution technique called PSSR.[2] | ||||||||
| RTX Remix | Implementing RTX Remix technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. | ||||||||
| Performance | Overclock | ||||||||
| Internal Framerate Hack | |||||||||
| Frame generation technologies (LSFG, DLSS-FG and SM, XeSS-FG, AFMF and FSR FG) |
AFMF is (technically) already supported on PlayStation 5. | ||||||||
| Rendering latency reduction technologies (LatencyFleX, Reflex,  Xe-LL and Anti-Lag+)
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While most emulators offer frame pacing or framebuffer latency control options, implementing rendering latency reduction technologies isn't currently feasible. This is likely doesn't offer enough benefit to justify the development effort. | ||||||||
| Post-Processing | Post-rendering AA (FXAA, TXAA and MLAA/SMAA) |
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| Post-rendering scaling (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos and FSR 1) |
FSR 3 is already supported on PlayStation 5. | ||||||||
| Filters | |||||||||
| AI-powered filter compatible (Freestyle) |
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| Shader Chain | |||||||||
| Inverse tone mapping compatible | PlayStation 5 system already supports HDR in some games. | ||||||||
| TAS features | Macros/Scripts/Lua | ||||||||
| Rewind | |||||||||
| Fast-Forward/Turbo Speed | |||||||||
| Savestates | |||||||||
| Movie recording/playback | |||||||||
| Controls | Mouse Injector Compatible | ||||||||
| Input lag-mitigating technique | |||||||||
| Turbo button | |||||||||
| Real peripheral support (Passthrough) Ability to passthrough USB HID devices or Bluetooth adapter for emulated system. |
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| Disguise peripheral support through Passthrough Tricking the software into think that the original controller was connected even those identify themselves with different device IDs. When a game tries to identify a connected 'nearly the same internally' controller, emulator will tell it that the equivalent original controller is connected instead, allowing it to work. |
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| Quality of life | Pause/Resume Emulation | ||||||||
| SDL backend support Provides controller plug-and-play and automatic input mapping through SDL GameController database. |
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| Streamable compression format | |||||||||
| Capable image format support | |||||||||
| Built-in mod editor and manager | |||||||||
| Built-in save manager | |||||||||
| Built-in Cheat Manager | |||||||||
| Built-in Patch Manager | |||||||||
| Per-Game Profiles | |||||||||
| Command-Line Options | |||||||||
| Built-in Custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes For using this on Windows OS you need CRT Emudriver. Another option is using EDID editor tool such as "Custom Resolution Utility". |
N/A Eighth gen home consoles and beyond only have digital video output anyway. | ||||||||
| Big Picture Mode | |||||||||
| Automatic Updater | |||||||||
| Portable and Stealth Useful enhancement feature for non-personal computer use or plug-and-play scenarios. However, the software may still require the necessary prerequisites and dependencies for your operating system if it is not statically linked. |
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| Misc | RetroAchievements | ||||||||
| Rich Presence (RPC) Allows the emulator to share real-time game session details (e.g., current game title, level, boss, playtime, or custom status) with external applications. This enables features such as displaying what you're playing on your profile, inviting friends to spectate, or triggering join-in-progress functionality where supported. |
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| EmuVR support | Exclusive to libretro cores. So there is no support at the moment. | ||||||||
| Ambient sounds simulation Simulation of audio from original hardware and environments, such as mechanical hard drive, floppy diskette, and optical drive noises (e.g., head seeks, spin-up/down, tray loading, disc spinning, and clicking), variable CRT flyback transformer whine (the classic high-pitched "coil whine" that dynamically changes pitch based on screen brightness and content), arcade cabinet effects (e.g., fan hum or button rattles), and other background ambient noises. |
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| Screen translator Using optical character recognition (OCR) and other techniques, this feature can provide live translation of in-game text, text-to-speech for visually impaired users, and more — either on demand or automatically. |
You can use RetroArch's AI Service or the standalone offline bquenin's Interpreter. | ||||||||
| Free Look Free Look is a enhancement feature that allows manipulation of the in-game camera. |
While freecam would be technically possible, it will require per-game patches. Said patches would require a significant amount of time to reverse the game's engine, which means that only someone talented with enough dedication to a single game could do it. | ||||||||
| Debug Features | |||||||||
Hardware features and peripherals
[edit | edit source]| Hardware features | N/A | |
|---|---|---|
| System software | Home screen and apps | |
| Trophies | ||
| Backwards compatibility |
PlayStation 2 emulation (incl. PS2 Classics) |
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| PlayStation emulation (incl. PSOne Classics) |
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| PSP emulation for Digital PSP titles | ||
| PlayStation 4 (inc. Game Boost) | ||
| Input | Adaptive triggers | |
| Haptic feedback | ||
| Built-in speaker | ||
| Built-in microphone | ||
| Motion controls | ||
| Touchpad | ||
| Light Bar | ||
| DS Edge's Back Buttons mapping | ||
| PlayStation Network (including PlayStation Now) |
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| LAN Tunneling | ||
| Tempest Engine 3D audio technology | ||
| HDR | ||
| Ultra HD Blu-ray drive | ||
| PS4 Save File Transfer | ||
| Peripherals | ||
| Controller | DualSense | |
| DualShock 4 | ||
| USB Keyboard & Mouse | ||
| WebCam | PlayStation Camera | |
| HD Camera | ||
| Motion | PlayStation VR2 | |
| PlayStation VR | ||
| PlayStation Move | ||
| Aim Controller | ||
| Remote Control | ||
| Pulse 3D wireless headset | ||
| Rock Band peripherals | ||
| PS5 Pro exclusive features | ||
| PS5 Pro-enhanced games | ||
| PS5 Pro version of the Game Boost feature | ||
Home screen and apps
[edit | edit source]PlayStation Home Menu is a graphical user interface developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. You can launch various applications from this interface as well.
- No emulator supports this at the moment.
Trophies
[edit | edit source]Trophies are PlayStation Network awards presented to players for completing specific tasks in a game. The feature is present in most PlayStation 3 games, and all PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games.[3] Trophies shouldn't be confused with RetroAchievements.
LAN Tunneling
[edit | edit source]- Also see computer programs such as XBSlink, SVDL and XLink Kai allow users to play multiplayer for LAN supported games by using a network configuration that simulates a worldwide LAN.
Ultra HD Blu-ray drive
[edit | edit source]PlayStation 5 (Pro) supports BD-Video and DVD-Video and thanks to Ultra HD Blu-ray drive it also supports UHD-BD. However it does not have the capability to play VCDs, additionally, the format is not supported by the consoles system software.
- See this dedicated page for more information about home media playback support for emulation softwares.
- See Ripping games.
- See "Emulation of the Disc Drive" section in Copy protection page.
- Also see psdevwiki: multimedia support
PS5 Pro
[edit | edit source]The PlayStation 5 Pro is placeholder text https://www.playstation.com/en-us/ps5/ps5-pro/
PS5 Pro-exclusive features
[edit | edit source]https://www.playstation.com/en-us/ps5/ps5-pro/
PS5 Pro-enhanced games
[edit | edit source]PS5 Pro version of the Game Boost feature
[edit | edit source]Emulation issues
[edit | edit source]On top of PlayStation 4 emulation issues there are additional obstacles for PlayStation 5 emulation such as Kraken, different custom APIs compared to prior generation and different GPU drivers to reverse-engineer all over again, as of this time, little to no documentation on the GPU used in the PS5's APU, and it will require a complete re-implementation by emulator developers.
In recent years many PlayStation 5 exclusive titles are now being ported to PC with enhancements, so similarly to PlayStation 4 (Pro), Xbox One (X|S) and Xbox Series X|S situations this could lead to a decreased interest in development. Having said that, there are still considerable amount of games exclusive to those consoles, this includes games for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S that haven't been ported and titles lacking enhanced/next-gen update for PC. See List of notable ports#Console multi-platform exclusives section for all of those games.
Fake emulators
[edit | edit source]Because most people don't understand how emulation works, scammers try and take advantage of this by making fake emulators for malicious purposes. The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 has seen its fair share of scams, the most notable and persistent of which being PCSX4. The scheme is very elaborate and clever, with a website designed to mimic RPCS3's while using a similar naming scheme as PCSX and PCSX2 (both of which are legitimate). The site uses aggressive search engine optimization (SEO), meaning it's one of the top results for "PS4 emulator" or "PS5 emulator" on Google. Two things invalidate PCSX4's legitimacy:
- The obstruction of the download behind endless surveys. Emulator development nowadays gets its funding from Patreon or Google Play.
- It is fairly easy to fake a PS4 (and even PS5) emulator by taking the open-source Chiaki Remote Play client, which works by streaming games from an actual PS4, and modifying the GUI to display fake hardware usage stats alongside the game. If its claims of running any PS4 game in 4K at 60FPS with little to no issues were true, there would certainly be news articles about it, just like there were for Cemu.
Reverse-engineering PlayStation 5
[edit | edit source]See these resources for reverse-engineering PlayStation 5;
- MVG: The PS5 Jailbreak is here
- Modded Warfare: PS5 Tutorials
- General
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- Graphics
- PlayStation 5-specific
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- CPU
- N/A
- GPU
- N/A
- Misc
- PS5 Developer Wiki
- Open source projects (FreeBSD, AMDGPU drivers, etc.): FreeBSD system calls, GPUOpen-Drivers
- Reddit Thread: Has anyone done an nmap scan of the PS5
External links
[edit | edit source]- DigitalFoundry: PlayStation 5 Backwards Compatibility Tested
