70% of PS3 games now playable on RPCS3 emulator, as official PS5 support lags behind

Retro gamers who yearn for PlayStation 3 nostalgia find their options limited. Without the original console, they must rely on cloud streaming titles on the PS5. However, a sparse selection makes the RPCS3 PS3 emulator an appealing alternative. On platforms including Windows and Linux, the software has crossed another milestone for compatibility.

Gradual but steady progress for RPCS3

As an open-source program, contributors continually improve the emulator. In a 2025 wrap-up video, it announced that 70.94% of PS3 games are “Playable.” Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is among the titles to see improvements in recent builds.

Another 26.19% of games have an “Ingame” label with noticeable glitches hindering complete playthroughs. The remainder of the console’s library freezes at start screens or doesn’t boot at all. Nevertheless, the number of targets without any functionality continues to dwindle.

Developers have also added steering wheel support and custom servers for games without online multiplayer. PS5 owners find that Sony’s solution to PS3 emulation is half-baked in comparison. Players must subscribe to PlayStation Plus Premium to access the Classics Catalog. Even then, the cloud-streaming experience often doesn’t feel as authentic.

Why is PS3 emulation so difficult?

The distinct cell processor on the PlayStation 3 has made revisiting its titles problematic. Even on modern PCs, RPCS3 can be CPU-intensive, bottlenecking framerates to some extent. Sony hasn’t given up on finding an official solution, but it doesn’t seem in a rush to solve the problem. The company reportedly partnered with retro experts Implicit Conversions, which could pay dividends years down the line.

RedoEngine has also had some success with its own PS3 emulator on the PS5. Not community-driven, it focuses on a smaller number of games like Cloudberry Kingdom. Players can test out the RedoApps approach by purchasing the title on the PlayStation Store.

In 2026, RPCS3 aims to optimize visuals for more PS3 games across multiple platforms. Most recently, ARM64 support became a reality, bringing the app to devices with Snapdragon X chips.