Changes

|version = {{RPCS3VerVersion|RPCS3}}<ref group=N name=version>The developers are currently treating version increments as milestones, not as stable builds.</ref>

|platform = [[Emulators on Windows, |Windows]]<br/>[[Emulators on Linux|Linux, BSD]]<br/>FreeBSD<br/>[[Emulators on macOS|macOS]]

 '''RPCS3''' is a very promising an open-source, multi-platform [[PlayStation 3 emulators|PlayStation 3 (PS3)]] emulator/debugger written in C++for Windows, Linux, macOS and FreeBSD. RPCS3 It is the only emulator that can run commercial games, with over 12,000 commercial titles without major glitches (see the [https://rpcs3.net/compatibility compatibility list])considered playable. It also emulates the PSN versions of supports the PS3's internal [[PlayStation emulators|PlayStation Classics1 emulator]]. The emulator is making huge progress, improving every month. (See through the [https://rpcs3PlayStation Classics digital re-releases.net/blog/ progress reports])

|align=center|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac|BSD}}|'''[https://rpcs3.net/download Latest builds]'''<br/><small>[https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-updates/ps3software/ Official Firmware] and [[Emulator Files#PlayStation 3|Fonts]] needed</small>.

RPCS3 was started 's end-goal is for its developers to experiment, research, and educate on the topic of PlayStation 3 emulation that can be performed on compatible devices and operating systems.<ref>[https://rpcs3.net/about RPCS3: About Us page]</ref> As it is under active development, it does not have a stable release. ===History===RPCS3 began on May 23, 2011 as an experimental project by programmers 'DH' and 'Hykem' (Who began who beta-testing tested and coding coded for [[JPCSP]] in 2008) in May 23, 2011. The developers They initially hosted the project on [https://code.google.com/archive/p/rpcs3/source/default/source Google Code ], and eventually moved it to GitHub later in its development. The emulator was first able to successfully boot and run simple homebrew projects and was then later , making the repository publicly released available in June of 2012. Then-[[Orbital]] founder, Alex Altea, even AlexAltea joined these two developers in the late summer of 2013, and worked on a number several components of aspects and maintained the project emulator, maintaining the codebase up till until early 2015. DH left the project in mid -2016 and started doing , turning his attention to the PlayStation 4 with the similarly named [https://github.com/RPCS4 PlayStation 4 related researchRPCS4]. Hykem was forced to leave pushed out of the emulation scene in mid -2016 for a number of legitimate reasonsdue to drama behind the scenes.<ref>[http://www.emunewz.net/forum/showthread.php?tid=174735 <nowiki>[IMPORTANT] </nowiki> Hykem says goodbye] (. August 18, 2016.</ref> After getting small homebrew apps working, the emulator could load the intros to some games with sound,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOcUcD9y51w Rpcs3 Update Quality Sound - Intro Video - The Guided Fate Paradox] (Mar 26, 2014)</ref> as well as play some portions of Disgaea 3 and The Guided Fate Paradox, but with heavy graphical glitches and no sprites.<ref name="Disgaea3 video">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQEv6B6fIgA RPCS3 WIP - Disgaea 3 - Ingame!] (Mar 22, 2014)</ref>Successive improvements brought with it the ability to play lightweight titles like After Burner Climax with almost no glitches.<ref>John GodGames. (February 1, 2016) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsuKQfsu-zk RPCS3 PS3 Emulator - After Burner Climax Ingame #2! DX12]. YouTube.</ref> After getting Persona 5 working, Atlus infamously sent the developers an erroneous DMCA takedown notice to help inforce a timed-exclusivity agreement with Sony,<ref>[https://atlus.com/atlus-and-emulation/ Atlus and Emulation].</ref> creating a [[wikipedia:Streisand effect|Streisand effect]] of spotlighting RPCS3 as a viable PS3 emulator.

Three years into its developmentFor a long time, it was commonly thought that the original firmware files could load only be extracted from a modded PS3, which would have greatly increased the intros barrier to some games entry. However, one of the developers discovered all the libraries were actually bundled with soundeach system update,<ref>and that the emulator could include the ability to extract the files. Nekotekina opened [https://www.youtubepatreon.com/watch?v=oOcUcD9y51w Rpcs3 Update Quality Sound Nekotekina a Patreon campaign] in 2017, with kd- Intro Video - The Guided Fate Paradox] (Mar 2611 joining not long after. In June 2018, 2014)</ref> as well as play some portions of Disgaea 3 after a few improvements and The Guided Fate Paradoxfixes, but with heavy graphical glitches and no spritesmost PlayStation 1 Classic titles became playable.<ref name="Disgaea3 video">[https://wwwrpcs3.youtube.comnet/blog/2018/07/15/watch?v=IQEv6B6fIgA RPCS3 WIP progress-report- Disgaea 3 june- Ingame!2018/#major Progress Report: June 2018] (Mar 22, 2014). § PlayStation 1 Classics.</ref> Today RPCS3 is dubbed one of Only the most complex video game console emulators of all time with an endless goal to effectively emulate PSN re-releases work; no discs can be loaded into the Sony PlayStation 3 and all of its aspectsPS1 emulator yet. The goal of this project is for its programmers to experimentIn January 2022, research, and educate on RPCS3 announced that the topic of PlayStation 3 emulation that can XMB could be performed ran on compatible devices and operating systemsfirmwares as low as 2.<ref>[https://rpcs380.net/about RPCS3: About Us page]</ref>

Developer Nekotekina opened [https://www.patreonToday, RPCS3 is able to play almost two thirds of the PS3's commercial library from start to finish.com/Nekotekina a Patreon campaign] in 2017Emulating most games is demanding on hardware, with kd-11 joining not long afterthough work has been done to reduce the requirements.

As of April 2020On May 5, RPCS3 has been able 2022, RSXAudio was implemented, adding audio to play over 50% of the PS3 library from start to finishXMB. The emulator is capable of running over 1Also on that month,000 games at RPCS3 uploaded a playable speed with no major glitches<ref name="Compatibility Page">https://rpcs3.net/compatibility</ref>, though it requires very demanding hardware video on most games. On June 2018 after a few YouTube showing the SPU performance improvements and fixes, made at least most [https://rpcs3.net/blog/2018/07/15/progress-report-june-2018/ PlayStation 1 Classic titles] became playable. Currently, only the PSN versions work (No PS1 discs are able to be loaded in-game yet)time.

Since ===Enhancements===RPCS3 has (or works with) some enhancements for gameplay, such as:;[https://rpcs3.net/blog/2018/08/08/eliminating-stutter-with-asynchronous-shader-implementation/ Asynchronous Shader Recompilation]:Compiles shaders as the game runs, allowing for [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu-HwEEU5K0 virtually stutter free performance] at the cost of objects and textures [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59q7wbeJLOo popping into existence] as you play. It only gives a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGWk1p7pCVk tiny performance boost] - a powerful computer and further optimizations from the emulator started getting funded on Patreon, development has been progressing quickly, so will be needed to get the more demanding titles to run at full speeds like 30 FPS or 60 FPS. Many demanding games are expected to may utilize multiple secondary cores plus the primary core of the PS3's CPU so parallelization techniques will be playable in the near futureneeded, perhaps running on a user's GPU or 8-core and better CPU.

* ;[https://codewww.googleyoutube.com/archivewatch?v=Sag4SF7dDrw ReShade]:A third-party suite that hooks into the renderer. Makes many games appear [https:/p/rpcs3/source/defaultwww.youtube.com/source Source codewatch?v=kPcHjnTZC_o more vibrant or saturated] for original RPCS3 code from 2011, particularly more pronounced in those with dull textures like the Tales of series, Naruto series, and other anime-2013based titles.

'''CPU'''<br/>AMD - Any x64 CPU but CPUs without AVX2 and with less than 4 cores and 8 threads are expected to run very badly overall and CPUs with only 2 cores per CCX cluster are expected to run very badly overall<br/>Intel - Any x64 CPU but CPUs without AVX2 and with less than 4 cores and 8 threads are expected to run very badly overall '''GPU'''<br/>AMD - OpenGL 4.3 compatible or newer (AMD Evergreen architecture, HD 5000 series or newer)<br/>NVIDIA - OpenGL 4.3 compatible or newer (NVIDIA Fermi architecture, GTX 400 series or newer) '''RAM'''<br/>4 GB of RAM or more (4 GB is the absolute minimum requirement) '''Storage'''<br/>SSD or HDD storage for emulator data and games<br/>512 MB for base emulator data, 5 GB for virtual console dev_hdd1 cache<br/><abbr title="* Average recommendation. Some games may require more, most games require less">128 MB for emulator cache and console user data per installed game.</abbr> '''OS'''<br/>Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1, Windows 10, Windows 11<br/>Linux 5.4 (Older LTS), Ubuntu 18.04 or newer<br/>macOS Monterey 12.0 or newer<br/>FreeBSD 12.3 or newer<br/> ===<abbr title=Enhancements"For running all playable games with playable performance">Recommended Requirements</abbr>===;[https:'''CPU'''<br/>AMD - 6 cores and 12 threads, 8 cores or more (AMD Zen 2 architecture or newer) '''*AMD Threadripper 1000 and 2000 series are not recommended'''<br/rpcs3.net>Intel - 6 cores and 12 threads, 8 cores or more (Intel Skylake architecture or newer) '''GPU'''<br/blog>AMD - Vulkan compatible with active driver support (AMD Polaris architecture, RX 400 series or newer)<br/2018/08/08/eliminating-stutter>NVIDIA -Vulkan compatible withactive driver support (NVIDIA Maxwell architecture, GTX 900 series or newer) '''RAM'''<br/>8 GB of dual-asynchronouschannel RAM or more ('''Dual-shaderchannel memory is highly recommended over single-implementationchannel''') '''Storage'''<br/ Asynchronous Shader Recompilation]:Makes >SSD storage for emulator data, SSD or HDD storage for games run [https:<br/>512 MB for base emulator data, 5 GB for virtual console dev_hdd1 cache<br/www><abbr title="* Average recommendation.youtubeSome games may require more, most games require less">128 MB for emulator cache and console user data per installed game.com</watch?v=eu-HwEEU5K0 virtually stutter free] at the cost of some [https:abbr> '''OS'''<br/>Windows 10 22H2 or newer, Windows 11 22H2 or newer<br/www>Linux 6.youtube2 (Latest), 6.com1 (LTS) or newer<br/watch?v=59q7wbeJLOo new shaders>macOS Monterey 12.3 or newer<br/textures popping into existence]>FreeBSD 13. Note: It only gives a 1 or newer<br/> ===[https://wwwdocs.youtubegoogle.com/watch?vspreadsheets/d/1Rpq_2D4Rf3g6O-x2R1fwTSKWvJH7X63kExsVxHnT2Mc/edit#gid=OGWk1p7pCVk tiny performance boost0 CPU Tier List for RPCS3] === ===Laptop PC Requirements=== RPCS3 team recommend using a laptop equipped with an 8- a powerful computer and further optimizations from the emulator will be needed to get the more demanding titles to run at full frame rate speeds, i.e. 30 FPS or 60 FPS. Many demanding games may utilize multiple secondary cores plus the primary core of the PS3's /16-thread 35W+ H-series CPU so parallelization techniques will be neededsuch as an Intel Core i7-10870H or an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, perhaps running on as well as having a user's compatible dedicated GPU or 8-core and better CPU(dGPU) with Vulkan compatibility. This recompilation mode only simulates While being a tall order, this is the shaders coming through the RSX graphics processorideal spec and RPCS3 team cannot guarantee even remotely good performance with laptops equipped with as little as 4-cores.

;[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sag4SF7dDrw ReShade]:Third-party suite. Makes many games appear [https://www.youtubeRPCS3 team strongly recommend using RPCS3 with a desktop PC over a laptop.com/watch?v=kPcHjnTZC_o more vibrant or saturated]Should you want to use a laptop, particularly more pronounced in those with dull textures like these are the Tales of series, Naruto series, and other anime-based titleshardware requirements for an optimal experience.

===Installing the Firmwarefirmware===RPCS3 does not work without firmware. This uses the original system firmware contains libraries used to interface with the games in different ways, like such as Bluetooth, PlayStation Eye, and so on. For a long time, it was commonly thought that these libraries could only be extracted from a modded PS3, which would have greatly increased the barrier to entry, however one of the developers discovered all the libraries were actually bundled with each system update, and that  [https://www.playstation.com/en-us/support/hardware/ps3/system-updates/ps3software/ You can extract them from the official update files that Sony also supplies these updates distributes through their website.]. This is the preferred method of installing the firmware; download Download the latest update from Sonyfile, then in RPCS3 go to File -> Install Firmware, and select the downloaded update file.

===Installing Games games and Updatesupdates===

Newer versions of RPCS3 is compiled to 7z files using AppVeyor. To feature an automatic update RPCS3, [[{{PAGENAME}}#Download|download the latest build]], and replace the necessary fileschecker. For most minor The emulator will automatically check for updateswhen loaded, you only need to extract and replace the <code>RPCS3.exe</code> executable for them to take effect, but it's recommended that will prompt you backup old builds so that you can revert to the older ones update if a new problems crop up, or you can extract the whole 7z archive file and replace files to their respective foldersversion is detected.

RPCS3 is compiled to AppImages using TravisAzure. To update RPCS3, [[{{PAGENAME}}#Download|download the latest build]], and replace your previous AppImage with the new one. Reenable executable permissions if they were disabled during the update. Most file managers can let you change it from their properties window. ==Basic troubleshooting==Issues are to be expected since the emulator is still early (even though the project was started in 2011). ===Audio Stutter===Cannot be completely eliminated in most cases, but you can at least try to mitigate it by playing around with the "Preferred SPU Thread" setting as well as the "lower SPU thread priority" and "Bind SPU thread" to secondary core settings.  In addition, manually adjusting the priority and affinity of the RPCS3 process can affect it independently of the other internal settings. On Windows, this is done via the Task Manager. On Linux, CLI and GUI tools exist like System Monitor and Task Manager that can change the priority. It varies by distribution. This can influence audio stutter and performance in general but especially for Ryzen users. ===Unavailable Setting(s)===If you can't find a specific setting in RPCS3, you could be using an old build, and should probably update it. ===Locked PSN Demos===Some PSN titles use an '''.EDAT''' file to differentiate between "trial" and "full version" states rather than a '''.RAP''' file; these games are often referred to as "c00" games, stemming from the c00 folder in their installation which contains parameters for the full version. This can cause issues with unlocking certain titles, with a notorious example being '''Castlevania: Harmony of Despair'''. If a title utilizing an .EDAT file will not unlock its full version, renaming the .EDAT to .RAP will usually unlock as intended.

<!--==Netplay==* [https://wiki.rpcs3.net/index.php?title=Help:Netplay RPCS3 uses Kaillera clientsRPCN for netplay,] which emulates some P2P matchmaking servers for PS3 games. Only a few titles are supported, but more are expected. See [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Xp-->662d12W13CZSzSiaBfB4BHwU2PyOFMdp_W4sA5Bo/edit#gid=0 this compatibility list].