A popular PlayStation 3 emulator will launch every game released for the console, marking a new milestone in its development.

The PlayStation 3 emulator has reached a significant new milestone and can now boot all PS3 games to successful image output. The notoriously complex Cell processor used by Sony’s seventh-generation console has been a major obstacle for emulator developers, but significant progress has been made in the past few years.

Although the PS3 is now considered a legacy platform, Sony’s console is still quite relevant to many gamers thanks to the quality games it eventually received over its lifetime. Exclusive games included titles like Metal Gear Solid 4, the original Demon’s Souls, and Gran Turismo 6, and emulating them on PC was an important consideration for many gamers.

We are delighted to announce that as of today, the RPCS3 Loadable compatibility category has reached 0 GAMES!

This means there are no PS3 games left that boot to a black screen on the emulator – every PS3 game at the very least boots and shows image output.

Happy holidays! pic.twitter.com/3ZAWFzbyGP

— RPCS3 (@rpcs3) December 25, 2022

PlayStation 3 emulation was mostly relegated to RPCS3 due to the complexity of the original console, and important progress has been made recently. What’s more, the official RPCS3 Twitter account recently announced that the app is now officially capable of launching every PS3 title ever released. This includes the best PlayStation Plus Premium PS3 games like Infamous and Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time. However, it should be noted that this does not necessarily mean that all PS3 games are currently playable on PC.

Notably, under 68% of all PS3 games are playable with performance and no game-breaking bugs, and the remaining 32% are bootable but still unplayable. Of course, RPCS3 will continue to improve as time goes on, and it now seems virtually inevitable that all PS3-exclusive games will eventually run well on PC. With Sony having so many exclusive games, it’s not particularly strange that a working PS3 emulator would be as popular as it is right now.

Of course, Sony did not intervene in the matter. While other companies, such as Nintendo, are strict about all things emulation, Sony has not been so draconian about it. Recently, Valve deleted a Steam Deck video that featured a Switch emulation to avoid potential problems that could arise from Nintendo’s lawyers targeting the new device.

It may be worth pointing out that it is possible that Sony itself is working on emulating PS3 games for the PlayStation 5. Earlier in 2022, leaker Jeff Grubb claimed that it was entirely possible that Sony would be looking for ways to run old classics on its latest console offering. Nothing has come of this rumor yet, but since these things take time, one can only speculate whether something like this could happen in the future.

Source: GameRant