The PS5 Hacking Scene is about to Explode

Summary

The video examines Relapse, a newly public PlayStation 5 jailbreak exploit, and the burst of emulator and homebrew development it has helped trigger.

Relapse and the PS5 hacking scene

Previously, PS5 jailbreaks generally required older firmware, limiting access to a small group of users. The presenter says Relapse works on firmware 7.00 through 13.60, including the PS5 Pro, and can be launched through the console’s network settings and User Guide—without a PC. The exploit uses a WebKit entry point followed by kernel privilege escalation.

Once jailbroken, a PS5 can run homebrew and emulators, install unsigned packages, dump games, and use cheats. The jailbreak is temporary and is cleared when the console restarts, though an offline auto-loader can simplify reactivating it. According to the video, Relapse was patched in firmware 14.0.

The presenter also reviews why the scene had been constrained: exploits were tied to older firmware, and PS5 Linux was available only on a narrow range of systems. The video recounts that developer TheFlow stopped working on PS5 Linux after a hypervisor vulnerability he had hoped to keep private was reportedly submitted to Sony’s bug-bounty program and patched.

Emulator and homebrew impressions

The presenter tests or discusses several early native PS5 projects:

• PS5SX2 (PS2): A native PCSX2 port that uses the PS5’s Zen 2 CPU and Vulkan graphics support. It offers features such as internal-resolution scaling, FSR filtering, and 60 FPS patches. The presenter finds compatibility uneven but demonstrates Ratchet & Clank running well on a PS5 Pro. This replaces the older approach of running PS2 games through a PS4 package with Sony’s hidden emulator.
• RPCS3 (PS3): The presenter reports seeing early footage of Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty running through RPCS3 on a jailbroken PS5 Pro, calling it an early sign of PS3 emulation on the hardware.
• XPSX EMU (original Xbox): An early alpha based on Xemu, with a user interface, gamepad support, and upscaling. Compatibility is limited: Jet Set Radio Future and some other tested games failed, while Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2X ran close to 60 FPS.
• Cemu-Aether (Wii U and 3DS): The presenter could not get Wii U games to launch and suspects configuration may have been the issue. Some 3DS games ran well, including with resolution upscaling.
• Porpoise (GameCube/Wii): A newly released Dolphin port. The presenter notes stuttering and rendering problems, including issues with Rogue Squadron.
• Prospero Eden (Switch): Mentioned as an available early emulator, but the presenter did not test games on it.
• Other projects: The video highlights reports of Half-Life 2 running at 60 FPS with high settings and 4× MSAA, as well as an SNES9x PS5 release and an early PS5 port of OpenMW for Morrowind.

Overall, the presenter describes the emulator ports as very early and often unreliable, but sees their rapid arrival as a major change for PS5 homebrew. They attribute the pace partly to AI-assisted development, while noting that many projects appear to be early ports with generic interfaces and substantial compatibility work still needed.

Guide mentioned

For a more comprehensive PS5 jailbreak and setup guide, the presenter recommends Modded Warfare, a channel focused on PlayStation hacking tutorials.

Main speakers and sources

• Modern Vintage Gamer (MVG): Narrator and presenter; demonstrates the jailbreak and tests several emulator projects.
• Relapse developers: Scene modders Sonic ISO and Nathan Fargo, as identified in the video.
• Modded Warfare: Recommended source for detailed PS5 hacking guides.
• Other cited sources and projects: Developer Sword and the PS5 emulator projects and developers discussed, including PS5SX2, RPCS3, XPSX EMU, Cemu-Aether, Porpoise, and Prospero Eden.