Well over five years since its release in late 2020, it is now possible to run Linux on PlayStation 5 with older system software, opening the way for many interesting applications, including turning the current-generation Sony system into an emulation beast.
This is exactly what one user did, proving how the system has all it takes to run PlayStation 3 games natively with little intervention, further highlighting Sony's disinterest in delivering the sort of backward compatibility users would love to see.
Shortly after developer Andrew Nguyen released their Linux loader online, X user Retropierdolnik shared a video showcasing the PlayStation 5 running the PS3 game Motorstorm Pacific Rift via the RPCS3 emulator. The game runs quite smoothly, judging by the footage, which is somewhat expected on a system powered by a very capable Zen 2 8-core CPU and RDNA 2 GPU, but it's still quite impressive, considering this is something that cannot normally be done on the system.
This isn't the first time we have seen the hardware powering the PlayStation 5 run PS3 games smoothly. Back in 2024, a test conducted using an AMD BC-250, a mining card featuring the PS5 silicon, confirmed how the system would have little trouble running emulated PS3 games, even at higher than native resolutions.
Seeing all this makes Sony's inaction on offering PlayStation 3 games natively running on the system even more baffling. As of now, games from the third-generation PlayStation system can only be played via cloud gaming, which doesn't always deliver a perfect experience, and the silence on the matter suggests that the native emulation that was reportedly being researched and prototyped by Implicit Conversions did not get anywhere.
With the PlayStation 6 launching soon, it is unlikely native PlayStation 3 games will be offered on the current-generation system, but maybe there's still some hope for the next-generation system to offer native access to titles released across all PlayStation systems, as it will reportedly have more than enough horsepower to deliver a great experience across the board.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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