Two new emulators now run on jailbroken PS5 hardware: PS5SX2, a port of PCSX2, and XPSemu, a port of xemu. The PS5, an x86-based machine running locked-down firmware, becomes a capable multi-system emulator once that firmware is bypassed. PS5SX2 is the more mature of the two, using Vulkan GPU acceleration via the PS5Vulkan project to run many PS2 titles at full speed and above their native resolution.

XPSemu just reached Alpha 1. Game compatibility is inconsistent, though Halo 2 runs. A third project, internally called PS5 Proton, is porting Valve's Wine-based Proton layer to the PS5. No public release exists yet, but the implication is straightforward: Windows games on PS5 hardware. None of the three emulators currently support booting from original discs, so every game requires a disc image stored on the PS5's SSD.

The full article is worth reading for the Vulkan implementation details in PS5SX2 and the specific compatibility lists, which show exactly how far each project has progressed. The PS5 Proton angle is the one to watch: if it ships, the jailbroken PS5 stops being a retro emulation box and starts looking like a locked-down PC that someone forgot to lock down.

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