Physical PS3 Games Can Now Be Played On PC, But There's A Big Catch

Sony released the PlayStation 3 in 2006, and in the years since, it's been extraordinarily challenging to play the system's discs on modern consoles. The PlayStation 5's backward compatibility is limited when it comes to PS3 games, only offering a small selection of cloud-streamed games via a paid service. Modders have been finding ways to play PS3 games on modern systems for years, and it looks like the physical disc problem has finally been overcome with an announcement from the folks behind the RPCS3 emulator on September 6, 2026.

According to the RPCS3 account on X, you can now play all of your PS3 games on PC via the system's disc drive. That said, there's a catch in the form of requiring a specific model of compatible Blu-ray drive (a list can be found here), and you also have to use a legit game disc with a valid decryption key, reducing emulation piracy concerns. If you look back at the system's library, there are tons of great games to choose from. Some of the PS3's best titles include "Grand Theft Auto IV," "Uncharted 2: Among Thieves," "LittleBigPlanet," "Batman: Arkham City," and many more.

While many of the games have been ported to more modern platforms, such as Steam, playing them requires buying them again. Making your own copies of PS3 game discs (since playing from the disc was impossible before now) requires either a modded PS3 or a very specific subset of PC Blu-ray drives (the same ones required to run games directly off a disc now) and is a legal gray area. The announcement revealing the enhancement to the emulator couldn't have come at a better time. Fans have been frustrated with Sony of late following the company's announcement that it would no longer produce physical discs beginning in 2028. It looks like future consoles won't use discs at all, so the ability to play your existing library of physical PS3 games is a big deal.

While Sony patched the PlayStation 3 after 20 years, the company has largely moved on, and the PlayStation 5 can play several older titles. It does this via cloud streaming, largely through PlayStation Plus Premium, which is a paid service. Sony prefers its customers purchase PS5 remasters and ports of PS3 games. Unfortunately, the bulk of the PS3's 2,500+ game library remains unplayable without a physical PS3 or via emulation.

Playing games directly from the disc works with a variety of Blu-ray drives, and according to the announcement, it's a plug-and-play method of enjoying your old PS3 games. The update enables PS3 disc support on PCs, Linux, FreeBSD, and macOS, so pretty much any home computer can handle the task.

Playing from a disc was previously limited to physical PS3s, so the expansion in functionality expands the range of users who can enjoy their PS3 library once more. Because piracy isn't what RPCS3 is all about, players will need to furnish their own valid decryption key for each of their discs, which then allows them to boot the game in their compatible Blu-ray drive. The emulator then takes over and decrypts the game on the fly, ensuring that playing it on your computer is just like playing it on the PS3 20 years ago.