A new Android PS3 emulator is coming from an RPCS3 founder

PS3 emulation on Android has been a dream of gamers since, well, the PS3. After all, the first

Androids
launched only a year later. The dream might soon become a reality.

One of the original developers of the leading PS3 emulator for PC is reportedly now working on an Android port, called RPCS3-Android (via Android Authority). The developer, known only as DH, co-founded the RPCS3 project back in 2011. This emulator is arguably one of the most popular PS3 emulators out there. DH left the project in 2016 to work on a PS4 emulator, but now they’re back.

Why haven’t we had PS3 emulation on Android before now?

Sony didn’t mess around when they made the PS3. Emulating the system is notoriously difficult due to its complex CELL architecture, which features a PowerPC-based core and multiple Synergistic Processing Elements (SPEs) working in parallel. While RPCS3 has made huge strides in bringing PS3 emulation to x86 PCs by translating CELL instructions into something modern CPUs can handle, performance on ARM-powered mobile devices has been a major challenge.

The RPCS3 team previously said they were not interested in working on a port, mainly due to concerns about toxicity in the Android emulation community. They did not cite any examples of what that toxicity might be, but it was enough to drive them away. They did release an ARM version of RPCS3 in 2023, but it’s not a full Android-ready port.

Now, DH could be working on the breakthrough needed to finally get those PS3 games running on Android.

This isn’t the first PS3 emulation attempt

There have been a few attempts at PS3 emulation in the recent past. All were shut down either by their devs or lawyers. aPS3e was an attempt at an Android port of RPCS3, but the developer was caught stealing code from GitHub and then asking for $5000 in donations before releasing it.

Having an original RPCS3 dev working on an Android port is different. It is a major credibility boost for the community, and hopes are high this will lead to a more stable and properly developed emulator.

The project is still in the works and there is no public build available for RPCS3-Android. It could be months before a working version is released. But at least it is finally happening. 2025 could be the year PS3 games become available on Android. Better late than never.