RPCS3 Emulator Can Now Play PS3 Games Straight From the Disc
The open-source PlayStation 3 emulator RPCS3 now runs games directly from a physical Blu-ray disc, with support across Windows, Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD.
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The developers behind RPCS3, an open-source PlayStation 3 emulator, say the software can now run games directly from a physical Blu-ray disc, removing the previous need to first copy, or dump, the contents to a hard drive or SSD.
The team announced the update on X, describing it as "plug and play." According to the posts cited by Tom's Hardware and TechPowerUp, the feature lets users play titles released up to 20 years ago without connecting to any servers.
A compatible Blu-ray drive is still required. RPCS3 maintains a list of supported internal and external drives on its site, spanning brands including LG, ASUS, Samsung, Lite-On, Sony, HP, Plextor, and BenQ. The same drives can also be used for dumping media to fixed storage.
The capability initially launched on Windows and was later extended to Linux, macOS, and FreeBSD, according to TechPowerUp. Package installations run from the disc drive are reported to be faster, and the outlet noted that PS4 and PS5 owners running Linux can launch PS3 games from a disc through RPCS3.
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