5 Best PlayStation Emulators in 2025

The PlayStation lineup has been one of the most beloved console series throughout gaming history. Now that many of its earlier iterations are more than a decade old, though, you may not have a working system to play some of your favorite nostalgic games. Thankfully, the best PlayStation emulators have your back.

An emulator imitates old consoles’ software to run game files without needing the original hardware. Most work on PC or Mac, but you can also find mobile options. You can also find emulators that replace multiple vintage systems, but many of the best specialize in just one area. So, with all that in mind, here are the five best PlayStation emulators to use in 2025.

DuckStation — The Best PS1 Emulator

The best PlayStation 1 emulator is DuckStation. It works on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android, so you can run it on almost anything to relive one of the bestselling consoles of the 90s.

You can download DuckStation straight from its website or, if you’re on an Android device, from the Google Play Store. Setup is quick and easy, and more importantly, it emulates PS1 games with remarkable accuracy. You likely won’t notice any lag or major glitches, and you can use overclocking and upscaling to make them perform even better than they did originally.

Some of the developers behind DuckStation have also worked on the ever-popular Dolphin emulator for GameCube, if that’s any indication of its reliability. Like Dolphin, it also has built-in support for many controllers, as well as a mouse and keyboard.

PCSX2 — The Best PS2 Emulator

The PlayStation 2 has sold more than any other console in history, racking up a staggering 160 million sales. With such an illustrious history to live up to, emulators face immense pressure, so the fact that PCSX2 is the best PS2 emulator means a great deal.

PCSX2 is an open-source project that’s been running for over 20 years, so it’s had a lot of support over its history. That’s led to it being one of the most reliable emulators available for most of the PS2’s vast library.

Like DuckStation, PCSX2 also has plenty of modernizations that the original console lacked. These include upscaling up to 4K, frame rates up to 60 frames per second (FPS) and virtual, shareable memory cards.

RPCS3 — The Best PS3 Emulator

There’s considerably less competition for the best PS3 emulator. Sony’s third flagship home console had a notoriously complex architecture, which has made replicating its software on other platforms difficult. However, the devs behind RPCS3 have managed to do it fairly well.

RPCS3 runs on Windows, Linux and macOS, as long as you have 64-bit versions. Its first-time setup is rather long and complicated, but once you get it sorted, you won’t find a truer PS3 experience outside of the console itself. Some more graphically demanding titles still give it issues, though.

You can use a mouse and keyboard, DualShock 3, DualShock 4 and DualSense controllers on RPCS3 and may be able to use others with additional software. It even supports the PlayStation Eye Camera, although not many games do.

ShadPS4 — The Best PS4 Emulator

Considering how the best PlayStation 3 emulator still has issues, you can expect some imperfections from PS4 emulation. Replicating newer systems is hard, but ShadPS4 has emerged as an early leader for emulating the PlayStation 4.

ShadPS4 only works on Windows and Linux, and you can double-check its FAQ section to see if you meet the system requirements. Given that the PS4 is a relatively recent console, its emulators require a bit more power than PS1 or PS2 alternatives. It also doesn’t support all games, but it does run many of the biggest titles and has built-in support for the DualShock 4.

While ShadPS4 is the best PS4 emulator available right now, there is an honorable mention worth keeping your eye on. There’s a project called Orbital currently in development that isn’t ready for end users yet, but has made several strides. Once it comes out in full, it could be a great option.

PPSSPP — The Best PSP Emulator

No list of the best PlayStation emulators would be complete without acknowledging Sony’s ill-fated hand-held. The PlayStation Portable was not remarkably popular, but that means it may have some hidden gems you missed out on. While multiple mobile emulators run PSP games, PPSSPP is the best.

You can install PPSSPP on any platform, even iOS, which isn’t true of most PlayStation emulators. Its mobile support means it works with touch controls on top of the usual gamepad and mouse and keyboard accessibility. It also runs almost all PSP games, which is refreshing if you’re used to the relatively sparse PS3 and PS4 ROM libraries.

Like other leading emulators, PPSSPP offers upscaling to improve game resolutions to modern standards. It even includes color correction so you can adjust the display however you’d like.

How to Use a PlayStation Emulator

Regardless of which emulator you go with, you’ll need to follow a few similar steps to set it up. Start by downloading the emulator itself. Be sure to get it directly from the developer’s website or a first-party app store. Any other sources may not be trustworthy.

Follow your emulator of choice’s instructions for installing and configuring it. In most cases, this looks the same as setting up any other program, but some, like RPCS3, are more complicated.

Once you’ve installed one of the best PlayStation emulators, you’ll need to get ROMs of old games to run on it. You can find these on free websites, but be careful. There are some untrustworthy ROM libraries out there, so do your research and ensure a site is reliable and safe before trusting it. Alternatively, you can use specialized hardware to pull ROMs from games you own, which is more expensive and complicated, but safer.

Most of the time, you’ll need to store ROMs in a designated folder for your emulator to find and run them. Review your software’s documentation to know where that folder is. Once you have games in there, though, you can launch them from your emulator and enjoy them however you want.

Are PlayStation Emulators Legal?

Emulation has gained a lot of attention lately for its confusing legality. While emulators and ROMS are legal in and of themselves, you can get into some gray areas when uploading or downloading a ROM.

Using a ROM of a game you don’t own or uploading one for others to download is technically a form of piracy. Some companies, like Nintendo, have aggressively pursued action against ROM and emulator sites because of this. However, other parties argue that emulators and ROMs are an important part of game preservation and do not harm video game companies.

Given this back-and-forth and all the technicalities involved, you may want to avoid PlayStation emulators outside of replaying old games you already own. Sony is less infamous for taking action against this software than Nintendo, but the legal gray area may be riskier than it’s worth for some.

Find the Best PlayStation Emulators for Your Preferred Console 

Whichever generation you prefer, you can relive it with the best PlayStation emulators. The five you’ll find here are not the only options available, but are the most worth your time. Start your search with this list and start replaying classic Sony titles like it’s the good old days.