While it is definitely not perfect, PS3 emulation is showing a lot of promise thanks to how RPCS3 has been developing. The team behind it has been hard at work getting it optimized and working for whatever games they can, and it is fantastic to see. Recently, they have released two updates that have made it significantly better to use on the Steam Deck, and it is awesome.

While we do support emulation, we do not condone piracy in any way.

RPCS3Logo

The biggest of the two updates came about a week ago when the team added full gamepad support to the main interface! This means, if you launch RPCS3 directly, you should be able to use the controller to navigate the menu, select games, and change settings! Here are the inputs and what they do, as per the merge request that added this in:

  • D-pad -> Arrow keys
  • Cross -> Enter
  • Circle -> ESC
  • Square -> Back
  • Triangle -> Tab
  • Left stick -> Mouse movement
  • Right stick Left/Right -> Horizontal mouse wheel
  • Right stick Up/Down -> Vertical mouse wheel
  • L1 -> Left click
  • R1 -> Right click
  • L2 -> Boost Mode = faster mouse movement

On top of that, it was announced on X (Twitter) that a new update went out 2 days ago to fix an issue of the AppImage build for RPCS3 where it wouldn't run in the Steam Deck OLED Game Mode. So, this is now fixed, and we will be able to use the emulator again!

You can download RPCS3 from the Discover Store or through EmuDeck/RetroDECK.

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Noah Kupetsky
A lover of gaming since 4, Noah has grown up with a love and passion for the industry. From there, he started to travel a lot and develop a joy for handheld and PC gaming. When the Steam Deck released, it just all clicked.
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