A new experimental emulator called RPS5S3 has demonstrated physical PlayStation 3 disc support on jailbroken PlayStation 5 consoles, following the recent arrival of PS5SX2 for PlayStation 2 discs.
Gran Turismo 5 boots from a PS3 disc
Coder Swordpdf showed RPS5S3 in an X post. The demonstration inserts a physical copy of Gran Turismo 5 into a PS5 disc drive before launching the racing game.
The project is not yet a finished, publicly documented release. Unlike PS5SX2, RPS5S3 is not currently available through GitHub, and the latest version shared on the PS5SX2 Discord is identified as RPS5S3 Test Build 3.
Early compatibility remains unconfirmed
There is no corroborated compatibility list at this stage. However, a Discord post identifies Grand Theft Auto IV, God of War: Ascension, LittleBigPlanet, inFamous and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift as the emulator’s “most played games”. That wording indicates reported use rather than a verified list of fully compatible titles.
A rapid follow-up to PS5SX2
The name suggests that RPS5S3 is based on, or otherwise draws from, RPCS3, the PC emulator associated with PlayStation 3 games. Swordpdf has not explicitly confirmed that relationship, and there is no GitHub repository available to verify the project’s code.
The development process also appears to have involved AI-assisted coding. Swordpdf previously acknowledged using Claude while creating PS5SX2 and credited it as a contributor on that project’s GitHub page. The timing adds to that impression: PS5SX2 went live on October 9, while the second RPS5S3 test build appeared on the Discord server the following afternoon.
That turnaround would be remarkable for a conventional porting project. It follows other recent developments around PlayStation 5 software, including the PS5 jailbreaking “Relapse” method and efforts to emulate the PS5 operating system on PC, both of which have been linked to advances in AI-assisted coding.
Why the experiment matters
RPS5S3 does not yet represent a reliable backwards-compatibility solution, and its unfinished status makes performance and game support difficult to judge. Nevertheless, the demonstration points towards a PS5 capable of handling physical software from more PlayStation generations than Sony officially supports.
For readers interested in the wider world of gaming hardware, RETROCADE’s Arcade Blog covers related industry developments, while the arcade video collection explores gaming history and hardware in moving pictures. Those considering a dedicated retro setup can also compare options in the Arcade Machine Buying Guide.
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