Xbox Series X can now run PlayStation 5 games via an emulator, but with a major limitation

Developer Devran Cosmo Uenal showed the PlayStation 5 version of Quake II running on Microsoft's Xbox Series X console, played with an Xbox controller, in a YouTube video posted on September 8. The game is launched through PS5X, his Xbox port of KytyPS5, an open-source PS5 emulator, which is software that lets one device run games made for another. The main obstacle is that PS5X works only in the console's official Developer Mode, where Microsoft's documentation limits games to 5GB of memory. That rules out most current-generation titles, and there is no public download yet.

How it works

Both consoles are built on closely matched AMD hardware: eight Zen 2 CPU cores, RDNA 2 graphics and 16GB of GDDR6 memory. PS5 games are compiled for the x86-64 architecture used by PCs, so KytyPS5 can run their code directly on the host processor instead of recreating the PS5's hardware in software. The emulator translates the PS5's graphics commands and recompiles its shaders for Vulkan. Xbox Developer Mode supports only DirectX 11 and DirectX 12, so Uenal says everything has to be translated to DirectX. In the video description he also acknowledged that AI was used in the work. As a result, fixes made to KytyPS5's PC renderer must be adapted before PS5X can use them.

Uenal calls the project a research project and claims it includes no PS5 firmware or decryption keys.

What it can run

PS5X currently runs the PS5 versions of GEX Trilogy, Hellboy: Web of Wyrd, Marvel Cosmic Invasion and Quake II, all with Xbox controller support. Some have working sound, and TweakTown estimates Quake II runs at roughly 25 to 45 frames per second in the footage. All four games are also sold on other platforms, and no PS5 exclusive has been shown running.

The memory limit

In Developer Mode, games get 5GB of memory and apps 1GB. A retail Series X game receives 13.5GB of the console's 16GB, leaving PS5X with about 37 percent of that. Microsoft lifts the cap only when software runs through the Visual Studio debugger. Without a jailbreak there is no real workaround, so Xbox players will not benefit from PC emulation progress. Those interested are advised to be cautious, as scammers distribute malware under similar names such as PCS5X.