PlayStation 5 emulators
| |
| 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.
From an emulation viewpoint, the PS5 was 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 and Vulkan. Since the news of Sony discontinuing the game discs production in July 2026, the PS5 emulation has started to get significant progress with various emulators emerging. However, they're far from having most of the library running at the moment.
The console’s CPU architecture is very similar to that of a PS4, so a PS4 emulator is likely to have support of PS5 in the future, similarly to how Dolphin supports Wii while originally being a GameCube emulator - granted, said emulator would have to emulate/translate GCN, RDNA 1, RDNA 2, and RDNA 3/4 if they choose to support the PS5 Pro.
Emulators and Compatibility layers
edit
Comparisons
edit- 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.
- KytyPS5
- A PlayStation 5 compatibility for Windows, macOS, and Linux based off of Kyty. The project is still in an early stage of development. KytyPS5 can boot 2D games and some 3D games.
- KytyPlus
- KytyPlus is a KytyPS5-based PlayStation 5 emulator for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It's a standalone project derived from KytyPS5 (itself based on Kyty), with additional work focused on iGPU optimization, build stability, and a unified PS4/PS5 dispatch.
- Sharpemu
- SharpEmu is an experimental PlayStation 5 compatibility layer written in C# for Windows, with experimental builds for macOS and Linux. At this stage, the emulator can boot Demon's Souls. Development is currently focused on the shader translator and graphics pipeline.
- craziiEmu
- A fork of Sharpemu which adds improvements currently not seen in the official SharpEmu repository, such as a different user interface.
- prosper
- Prosper by mattias800 is another compatibility layer for Windows/macOS/Linux. It is highly not recommended you use this emulator due to it being almost completely AI generated.
- Prosperity
- Prosperity, originally launched as PS4Delta in 2019, is a PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 emulator for Linux and Android. Windows support is planned for a later release. On AMD64 hosts, the CPU runs without emulation. On ARM hosts, FEX is used to execute the CPU code. The GPU is fully emulated, with graphics code recompiled to SPIR-V. Graphics output is handled through Vulkan and SDL3.
- Prosperismo
- Prosperismo began as a fork of Kyty and has since added its own compatibility work, Vulkan renderer changes, and desktop shell.
- PS5rs
- A work-in-progress Rust-based PS5 emulator
Enhancements
edit| Name | N/A | |
|---|---|---|
| Controls | Disguise peripheral support through passthrough Tricking the software into thinking that the original controller was connected even though they 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. |
|
| Input lag mitigating | ||
| Mouse injector | ||
| Real peripheral support (passthrough) Ability to passthrough USB HID devices or Bluetooth adapter for emulated system. |
||
| Turbo button | ||
| Graphics | Pre-rendering anti-aliasing (SSAA, MSAA) |
|
| 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. | |
| Resizable internal resolution | ||
| RTX Remix | Implementing RTX Remix technology in an emulator is unfortunately quite challenging and unlikely to be feasible in the near future. | |
| Super-resolution techniques (DLSS, XeSS, and FSR 2+) |
FSR 3 is already supported on PlayStation 5. | |
| Texture replacement | ||
| Ultra-widescreen 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. |
||
| Performance | Frame generation technologies (LSFG, DLSS-FG and SM, XeSS-FG, AFMF and FSR FG) |
AFMF is (technically) already supported on PlayStation 5. |
| Internal frame rate hack | ||
| Overclock | ||
| Rendering latency reduction technologies (LatencyFleX, Reflex,  Xe-LL and Anti-Lag+)
|
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 | AI-powered filter (Freestyle) |
|
| Filters | ||
| Inverse tone mapping | PlayStation 5 system already supports HDR in some games. | |
| Post-rendering anti-aliasing (FXAA, TXAA, and MLAA/SMAA) |
||
| Post-rendering scaling (Sharp bilinear, Lanczos, and FSR 1) |
FSR 3 is already supported on PlayStation 5. | |
| Shader chain | ||
| Quality of life | Automatic updater | |
| Big Picture Mode | ||
| Built-in cheat manager | ||
| Built-in custom resolution/CRTSwitchRes For using this on Windows, 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. | |
| Built-in mod editor and manager | ||
| Built-in save manager | ||
| Built-in patch manager | ||
| Command line options | ||
| Pause/Resume emulation | ||
| Per-game profiles | ||
| 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. |
||
| SDL backend support Provides controller plug-and-play and automatic input mapping through SDL GameController database. |
||
| Streamable compression format | ||
| TAS features | Fast forward/Turbo speed | |
| Macros/Scripts/Lua | ||
| Movie recording/playback | ||
| Rewind | ||
| Save states | ||
| Misc. | 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. |
|
| Debug features | ||
| EmuVR support | Exclusive to libretro cores. So there is no support at the moment. | |
| Free Look Free Look is an 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. | |
| 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. |
||
| 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. | |
Hardware features and peripherals
edit| Hardware features | N/A | |
|---|---|---|
| System software | Home screen and apps | |
| Trophies | ||
| Backwards
compatibility |
PlayStation 2 emulation
(incl. PS2 Classics) |
|
| PlayStation emulation
(incl. PSOne Classics) |
||
| 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 | ||
| 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
editPlayStation 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
editTrophies 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. Trophies shouldn't be confused with RetroAchievements.
LAN Tunneling
edit- 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
editPlayStation 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.
Sony discontinued all manufacturing of physical media games for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in January 2028. Physical disc production ending in January 2028 for new games releasing on PlayStation consoles – PlayStation.Blog
- See this dedicated page for more information about home media playback support for emulation softwares.
- See Ripping games.
- See Disc Drive emulation.
- Also see psdevwiki: multimedia support
PlayStation 5 Pro
edit
| |
| |
| PS5 Pro with visible black "gills" on the sides | |
| Developer | Sony Interactive Entertainment |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Sony, Foxconn |
| Type | Home video game console |
| Generation | Ninth |
| Release date | November 7, 2024 |
| Predecessor | PlayStation 4 |
| Emulated | ✗ |
The PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro) was released on September 10, 2024, following industry rumors since March 2024. While the CPU remains the same, the GPU now has dedicated machine learning hardware (300 INT8 Tops) for PSSR upscaling and is around 45% better at typical gaming tasks such as rasterization and ray tracing. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/ps5/ps5-pro/
PS5 Pro-exclusive features
edithttps://www.playstation.com/en-us/ps5/ps5-pro/
PS5 Pro-enhanced games
editPS5 Pro version of the Game Boost feature
editPlayStation Portal
editThe PlayStation Portal (Codenamed Project Q during development) is an accessory to the PS5 which uses a modified version of Android 13 with a Snapdragon 662 system-on-chip. It is made for streaming games and media from a PS5. It was launched in November 15th of 2023. https://www.playstation.com/en-us/accessories/playstation-portal-remote-player/
Notes
editReferences
editExternal links
edit- DigitalFoundry: PlayStation 5 Backwards Compatibility Tested
