Emulating a number of the PS3’s greatest hits simply acquired simpler

In comparison with different recreation consoles just like the PlayStation 2, GameCube, Wii, Sport Boy, and Nintendo Change, the PlayStation 3 (PS3) has all the time been notoriously tough to emulate. That is largely due to its uniquely complicated Cell processor. Nonetheless, over the previous decade, PS3 emulation has made large strides, and now one of many main open-source PS3 emulators, RPCS3, has hit a serious milestone.

In a recent video from the RPCS3 improvement crew highlighting the emulator’s progress in 2025, the crew revealed that 70 p.c of PS3 video games at the moment are playable, with secure efficiency and no game-breaking glitches. That features main titles like God of Warfare HD, The Sly Assortment, Demon’s Souls, Ultimate Fantasy XIII, LittleBigPlanet, and many extra.

Out of the three,562 PS3 video games at present listed on RPCS3’s web site, 2,513 titles (70.94 p.c) at the moment are thought of playable. One other 26.19 p.c fall into the “in-game” classification, which means they boot and run however nonetheless undergo from points like poor efficiency or game-breaking bugs. An instance of a recreation categorised as that is Metallic Gear Strong 4: Weapons of the Patriots, which requires a separate recreation patch to be downloaded to mod the sport and unlock the body charge and enhance efficiency.

Past that, simply 2.84 p.c of video games are caught within the “intro” state, the place they attain the menu however cannot be performed, whereas an nearly negligible 0.03 p.c are categorised as “loadable,” which means they show a black display and a body charge however do not load any additional. You’ll be able to view a full list of compatible PS3 games on RPCS3’s web site.

Learn how to get began with RPCS3 your self

The emulator is out there on Home windows and Linux

With the PS3 turning 20 this 12 months, it makes me actually completely happy to see the crew behind RPCS3 make such significant progress towards making the console’s total library playable by emulation. There’s nonetheless a lot of work to be finished, however having 70 p.c of PS3 video games playable is an enormous deal and an enormous win for recreation preservation. Plus, with the present state RPCS3 is in, there is a good likelihood that most of the video games you keep in mind taking part in again within the day already run simply wonderful.

So, should you’re craving for some PS3 nostalgia, I like to recommend giving RPCS3 a shot. The emulator is free to obtain from RPCS3’s website and is out there on Home windows, Linux, and FreeBSD. There’s additionally an experimental macOS model, although, because the title suggests, efficiency will not be on par with the Home windows and Linux builds.

It is necessary to remember the fact that RPCS3 is an emulator, so like different emulators, equivalent to these for the PS2 or Nintendo Switch, you may want to supply your individual legally obtained PS3 system software program and video games earlier than you’ll be able to play something on it. I will not get into the precise particulars right here on how to try this, however there are many guides on-line that stroll you thru the method of dumping your individual PS3 video games and firmware to your PC so you’ll be able to play the emulator.

Now, if emulation is not your factor, it’s price noting you could play PS3 video games on the PS5 and PS4, nevertheless it’s all dealt with by cloud streaming, so the video games do not truly run natively on the console and are streamed from the web. On high of that, accessing PS3 titles by Sony’s Classics Catalog requires a PlayStation Plus Premium subscription, which prices $18 per thirty days or $160 per 12 months.

With all that in thoughts, in case you have an outdated PS3 mendacity round, with 70 p.c of its library now playable on RPCS3, now’s nearly as good a time as ever to mud it off and provides emulation a attempt. And should you’re additionally trying to develop your PS3 recreation assortment, I not too long ago wrote about my expertise shopping for PS3 video games in 2026, together with the best methods to get began, which you’ll take a look at in my different Pocket-lint story here.