RPCS3-Android: PS3 emulator for Android gains expanded controller support

Defying the initial announcement made by the RPCS3 team back in December last year, the RPCS3-Android entered its alpha phase in early March 2025. Since then, the PS3 emulator for Android has been receiving continuous updates, and the recent alpha 5.0 and alpha 5.1 updates have introduced some major changes.

With the alpha 6 update, the Android PS3 emulator has now received support for Bluetooth controllers. This specific build of RPCS3-Android became available on March 24, and it's available to download from the project's official GitHub page. Before this, the emulation software apparently had support for some USB-C mobile gamepads, and some PlayStation controllers were reported to work.

One thing that's worth pointing out is that RPCS3-Android can automatically map the buttons according to the connected controller. However, this auto-mapping feature may not work with all gamepads (Razer Kishi V2 mobile gaming controller curr. $48.89 on Amazon).

While it's good to see the PS3 emulator for Android gaining support for Bluetooth controllers, it seems like there's currently no way to disable the gamepad overlay. So, even with the physical gaming controller connected, the overlay still remains on the screen. There's also apparently no way to remap the buttons, which can make it a bit challenging to get some gamepads to work with this PS3 emulation software.

But then again, these issues will likely be fixed with the next alpha update, which, given the update frequency, can land sooner rather than later. Besides adding support for wireless controllers, the new update for RPCS3-Android fixes various issues, offers a more responsive virtual pad, and lays the foundation for game folder support.