Since Gabe Newell’s device will also run Linux (and SteamOS is built on it), it’s not nearly as simple as it sounds…

If you’ve ever looked at a PlayStation 5 and thought it would make a great cheap gaming PC – if only you could install your own operating system – there’s good news. A software engineer has done exactly that, even if the simplicity of the end result doesn’t reflect the seriousness of the challenge. Andy Nguyen shared his success story on Twitter, revealing that his Ubuntu-based PlayStation 5 can run Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced with ray tracing without breaking a sweat. It’s also worth remembering that Sony itself uses Linux for the PlayStation operating system – but that doesn’t make this project easy.

Sony locks everything down, and the old PS2/PS3 era – when you could install Linux on a console from a disc – is long gone. Nguyen first had to exploit a known vulnerability to bypass Sony’s restrictions, and it only works on older PlayStation 5 firmware versions. But gaining access is only part of it: you still need drivers for everything, and Sony isn’t going to hand those over. Given the PlayStation 5’s GPU – a heavily customized RDNA 1/RDNA 2-based chip – it’s fair to assume this is the hardest part of the entire effort.

The key piece of the puzzle was the open-source Mesa project, which apparently can be modified relatively easily to support the custom GPU. Nguyen’s console has trouble running flat-out due to thermal issues, but the Linux-converted machine still seems to run the game pretty well. Audio output works, controller support is fine, and the USB ports appear to function perfectly. In short: it’s a legit gaming PC.

Still, none of this is straightforward. If you keep your console updated, you’re out of luck, because firmware updates remove the access needed for the hack. And even once it’s running, the Steam performance overlay struggles to read some metrics correctly – like GPU clocks, utilization, VRAM levels, and temperature (is the chip really running at -2147483°C?).

I ported Linux to the PS5 and turned it into a Steam Machine. Running GTA 5 Enhanced with Ray Tracing. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/aMbT0PQ1dS

— Andy Nguyen (@theflow0) March 6, 2026

Source: PCGamer