Playing PlayStation games on PC has always been a fever dream I never thought would come true. However, after the launch of the PS5, Sony eventually started releasing official PC ports of some of its flagship PS4 exclusives, such as God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Uncharted 4. This led me to think that the era of console exclusives might finally be over. Oh, how naive I was. Recently, Sony made several, well, questionable decisions regarding the PlayStation brand.
And among those decisions, nothing hurts me more than PlayStation completely halting PC releases of their premium single-player games.
However, it turns out that gamers always find a way to play the games they want to play. And with the recent boom in AI vibe-coded software, you might just be able to play PS5 games before you ever play GTA 6 on it.
PS5 emulation is a reality, and there’s no stopping it
All thanks to vibe-coding tools
I did not really expect PS5 emulation to take off this early. To put it into perspective, we got a proper “functional” PS4 emulation tool via ShadPS4, just last year. And within a year, we can now play games like Demon’s Souls Remake and Driveclub on PC. This is basically due to the rise of vibe-coding tools like Claude. Now, technically, all these PC ports of the PS5 exclusives aren’t exactly running via an emulation layer, akin to how ShadPS4 runs Bloodborne.
Instead, these games are decompiled using the vibe-coding tools to create a dedicated executable file. And barring some features, these ports function almost identically to any other regular PC port of a game.
The Demon’s Souls Remake is essentially running using the KytyPS5 emulator, which grants granular access to the game’s various graphical properties as well. In fact, you can even inject DLSS 5 into the game, which I tested, albeit with mixed results. Additionally, it offers options for Frame Generation and unlocked frame rates.
Vibe-coded emulators are keeping some of PlayStation’s long-abandoned games, like P.T. and Driveclub, alive.
And as I was writing this article, I came across news of more similar emulators that are emerging from various corners of the internet, for games like Driveclub, Gran Turismo 7, and even underrated gems like Gravity Rush.
On top of that, fan projects are also reverse-engineering long-abandoned games like Hideo Kojima’s P.T. to create dedicated PC ports. That said, these vibe-coded emulators aren’t exactly the “ideal” way to enjoy these games, far from it. And that’s not even taking the legally grey aspects of such tools.
Nonetheless, it’s still fascinating to see PS5 emulation taking off so fast, especially with the release of what is easily this decade’s biggest “timed console exclusive” to date — GTA 6.
The vibe-coded PC ports of PS5 games aren’t flawless
Performance and stability are major concerns
The idea of playing PS5 games on PC is already incredibly intriguing to me, especially since Sony has decided not to port its single-player exclusives to the platform. Now I do own a PS5, which, to be frank, has been collecting dust for the last two years. The only time my PS5 gets any use out of it is when I get that Bloodborne itch, or if I’m using it as my media center system. However, if I can play games like Bloodborne or Demon’s Souls on my PC, which is where I spend most of my time anyway, I’ll happily take that.
That being said, the vibe-coded ports of PS5 games and even the ones that are running via an emulation layer are far from perfect. The biggest issue with these ports has always been stability.
And with the rise of vibe-coded emulators, you don’t even have the assurance of future updates to improve stability. That’s not to say all emulators have stability issues. For instance, the latest iteration of the ShadPS4 emulator for Bloodborne is very stable and runs the game at up to 120fps, depending on the hardware you’re using.
However, I do have my doubts about vibe-coded emulators and PC ports, as they’re as quickly abandoned as they’re created.
PC might be the best platform to play GTA 6, even if you have to wait a little
The rapid development on the PS5 emulation front has me incredibly excited to see how that pans out for Grand Theft Auto 6. Modders were able to get most PS exclusives, even the ones that have long been abandoned by Sony themselves, such as Driveclub and P.T., running on PC. And I won’t be surprised if we end up getting similar AI-assisted development on a dedicated emulator for GTA 6 itself within a few days of the game’s official release.
That said, I also feel that instead of playing the game via an emulator, the best option for GTA fans would be just, well, wait for the official PC port. GTA 6 might be released as a console exclusive, but it’s a “timed” exclusive.
The game will eventually arrive on PC, similar to past Rockstar Games titles. I’m curious to see the development of the GTA 6 emulators, and perhaps even try one out for myself. However, for my first proper playthrough of the game, I will wait for the official PC port. After all, the PC version is going to be the best way to experience GTA 6.
That said, if you don’t want to wait for a PC release, the second-best option would be to look for used PS5s for GTA 6.