This is a breakthrough that many have been waiting for for over a decade. The PS3 emulator RPCS3 is now dangerously close to allowing the launch of the entire PlayStation 3 catalog. According to a recent update from the development team, only 62 games remain stuck at “Introduction” status. Concretely, this means that the vast majority of PS3 titles can now at least launch, and in the vast majority of cases be completed without major problem.
73% of PS3 games already fully playable
The figures published by RPCS3 are particularly impressive. Currently, 73.06% of the PlayStation 3 catalog is classified as “playable.” This means that these games can be completed from start to finish without blocking bugs or critical issues. At the same time, a further 25.12% are classified as “in play”. These titles can be launched and played, but are not necessarily complete in their current state.
Only 62 games remain blocked at the “Introduction” stage, compared to 101 previously. Among these 62 titles, 46 are PlayStation Move compatible, which partly explains the remaining technical difficulties. Once these obstacles are resolved, RPCS3 could reach a symbolic milestone: total compatibility of the PS3 catalog.
A project launched in 2011 that has become colossal
RPCS3 is an open source cross-platform emulator and debugger written in C++ and compatible with Windows, Linux, macOS and FreeBSD. The project began in 2011 with a clear objective: to faithfully emulate the PlayStation 3 system. The PS3 is renowned for its complex architecture based on the Cell processor, long considered a nightmare for developers and even more so for emulation.
Despite this, the open source community has gradually overcome obstacles through reverse engineering and long-term collaborative work. The objective stated by the developers is the preservation of the video game heritage of the PlayStation 3, a large part of the catalog of which remains inaccessible on modern consoles.
A PS3 catalog still largely abandoned
Many major PS3 games are still not available natively on PlayStation 5. Licenses like Killzone, Resistance, inFamous or certain Ratchet & Clank adventures remain mainly confined to the original console. Emulation therefore becomes a central tool for preserving these works.
However, some progress has been made elsewhere. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, long stuck on PS3, was announced in Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2. The first three God of War are also getting a remake. But despite these initiatives, a large part of the PS3 catalog remains absent from current consoles, except via streaming, a solution often considered less reliable than native execution.
A major step forward for the preservation of video games
The success of RPCS3 is not limited to the PlayStation 3. It has also inspired the development of similar tools to preserve the PlayStation 4 catalog. While players have been demanding native backward compatibility on current Sony consoles for years, like what Xbox offers, emulation on PC remains today the most complete solution for accessing the PS3 heritage. After fifteen years of effort, the RPCS3 project is approaching a goal that once seemed impossible: running all PlayStation 3 games.