Have you ever wondered what happens when someone crosses software boundaries for fun? Thanks to an experimental emulator project that has gamers excited, an Xbox Series X can now boot and run a few select PlayStation 5 games.
Developer Devran Cosmo Uenal managed to get a handful of titles up and running on Microsoft’s console using an open-source port called PS5X.
Translating the hardware language
Running games from a rival console might sound impossible, but the underlying hardware of these consoles makes it a fascinating possibility. Both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X are built around remarkably similar AMD architecture that features eight Zen 2 CPU cores, RDNA 2 graphics and 16GB of GDDR6 memory. Because PS5 games are compiled for the same x86-64 processor architecture used by PCs, a compatibility layer can act as a translator.
The problem—that is until now—has been getting those graphics to render on Xbox. While the original PC-based emulator relies on Vulkan, Microsoft’s official Developer Mode only supports DirectX 11 and DirectX 12. That means all graphics instructions have to be translated right into DirectX format for the Xbox to process them.
The catch behind the magic
Even though games like Quake II have successfully booted up and responded to a standard Xbox controller, you shouldn’t expect to play sprawling current-gen exclusives anytime soon. The biggest obstacle is memory.
In the console’s official Developer Mode, Microsoft caps games at a strict 5GB of memory allocation, which is a fraction of the 13.5GB available to normal retail Xbox games.
Because of this tight memory budget and limited compatibility, the project remains an early-stage research experiment rather than a practical way to play. It’s a neat technical milestone, but your Xbox won’t be replacing a PS5 anytime soon.
Sources: Engadget, Tech Edition