A historic moment is unfolding in the PlayStation world, exciting technology enthusiasts. The dream of running PS3 games on the PS5, considered impossible for years due to the complexity of its hardware architecture, is finally becoming a tangible reality. While there’s no official announcement from Sony yet, a new development proves a revolutionary step has been taken in terms of backward compatibility.

How Did PS3 Games Become Possible on PS5?

At the heart of this exciting development is the game Cloudberry Kingdom. Quietly listed in the Asian market, this game appeared on PlayStation 5 in two different versions. The first version is a standard PS5 port, while the second is labeled “PS3 Edition.” And that’s where the revolution begins; this version doesn’t undergo a porting process, but runs directly on the PS5 using a special emulator, following the logic of PS3 games.

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Developed by a talented software team called RedoApps, this system allows the game to be emulated natively on the PS5 hardware. This is the biggest indication that the door to backward compatibility, long awaited, has finally been opened.

The development team RedoApps states that this project has no connection to the well-known RPCS3 emulator on the PC side and was designed entirely from scratch for commercial use. The method they adopted is quite remarkable:

High-Level Emulation (HLE): Instead of directly mimicking the PS3’s complex Cell processor, they use a more flexible structure that simulates the hardware’s responses.
Custom Save State System: Similar to those used in Sony’s modern emulators, instant saving features are integrated into the system.
You can examine the technical details of how the system works and the game’s performance in the video below:

The complexity of the PS3 architecture, especially the SPU (Synergistic Processing Unit) structure, is a known fact. The RedoApps team emphasizes that their method is not a universal “plug-and-play” emulator, but requires specific optimization for each game. Therefore, it is not expected that the entire PS3 game library will be available on PS5 at once.

While the current focus is on smaller, independent titles, the team’s long-term plans include bringing AAA-quality games to PS5. This process will take time, but it’s no longer “impossible.” Legendary PS3 classics that have faded into obscurity could soon be revived on our modern console.

So, what are your thoughts on PS3 games on PS5? Share your opinions in the comments!