shadPS4 is a

free and open-source Free and open-source software (FOSS) is software available under a Software license, license that grants users the right to use, modify, and distribute the software modified or not to everyone free of charge. FOSS is an inclusive umbrella term ...

emulator In computing, an emulator is Computer hardware, hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run sof ...

for the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...

. It supports

Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

Linux Linux ( ) is a family of open source Unix-like operating systems based on the Linux kernel, an kernel (operating system), operating system kernel first released on September 17, 1991, by Linus Torvalds. Linux is typically package manager, pac ...

and

MacOS macOS, previously OS X and originally Mac OS X, is a Unix, Unix-based operating system developed and marketed by Apple Inc., Apple since 2001. It is the current operating system for Apple's Mac (computer), Mac computers. With ...

. shadPS4 can currently only emulate some games to varying degrees of support.

Development

Development of shadPS4 was started by George Moralis in October 2022. Moralis previously worked on the PS1 emulator

PCSX PCSX is a free and open-source, video game console emulator that allows software designed to be used with the Sony PlayStation to run on personal computers. Over the years, development changed hands several times with PCSX-Reloaded (PCSXR) now be ...

and founded the

PS2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 November, in Australia on 30 November, ...

emulator

PCSX2 PCSX2 is a free and open-source emulator of the PlayStation 2 for x86 computers. It supports most PlayStation 2 video games with a high level of compatibility and functionality, and also supports a number of improvements over gameplay on a trad ...

, going by the user name "shadow". At the time, PS4 emulation had not advanced very far, with most existing emulators being only able to run 2D games reliably. On July 2, 2024, shadPS4 version 0.1.0 was released, being able to launch ''

Sonic Mania ''Sonic Mania'' is a 2017 platform video game developed by Christian Whitehead, PagodaWest Games and Headcannon and published by Sega. Produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series' 25th anniversary, ''Sonic Mania'' pays hom ...

'', '' One Piece: Unlimited World Red'' and some other 3D games such as '' Resident Evil: Origins Collection'' and ''

Persona 5 is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by P-Studio and published by Atlus. The game is the sixth installment in the ''Persona'' series, itself a part of the larger ''Megami Tensei'' franchise. It was released for PlayStation 3 and PlayStat ...

''. A major factor contributing to its support for more 3D games was that addition of a shader recompiler to its architecture. By July 31, it could run ''

Red Dead Redemption ''Red Dead Redemption'' is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Rockstar San Diego and published by Rockstar Games. A successor to 2004's ''Red Dead Revolver'', it is the second game in the ''Red Dead'' series. ''Red Dead Redemption'' is se ...

'' at 25 frames per second, and it was able to launch ''

Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series began with the release of ''Dark Souls (video game), Dark Souls'' (2011) and has ...

''. By December 7, 2024, version 0.4.1 was in development and allowed games based on

Unity Unity is the state of being as one (either literally or figuratively). It may also refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpoo ...

to run on Windows, which meant many new games were now supported. On December 25, the major version 0.5.0 was released including further improvements. On July 6, 2025, version 0.10.0 was released with major improvements in games such as ''

The Last Guardian ''The Last Guardian'' is a 2016 action-adventure game developed by Japan Studio and GenDesign and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. Players control a boy who befriends a giant legendary creature named Trico. ...

'' and '' Driveclub''. Version 0.10.0 also included a new feature called readbacks, which emulates the PlayStation 4's shared memory functionality. The feature is experimental and disabled by default, and it causes performance and accuracy issues, but it improves vertex explosions in Bloodborne.

Bloodborne

The ability to emulate ''

Bloodborne is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The game follows a Hunter through the decrepit Gothic, Victorian-era–inspired city of Yharnam, whose inhabita ...

'' has been of long-standing interest to fans due to the lack of a PC port or remaster. By July 2024, ''Bloodborne'' could run and access the character creation menu, but had a major graphical bug causing a red filter to be applied to the screen. By August 19, version 0.2.1 was in development and was able to run both the alpha and retail version of ''Bloodborne'' without crashing, with some users able to run the game at more than 60 FPS. However, not all textures could be properly loaded, and several game specific hacks were used in order to run it. In early September rendering was greatly improved, with support being added for screen light occlusion, depth of field, dynamic lighting, and shadows. By January 2025, gaming outlets reported that ''Bloodborne'' was "very playable" as long as certain mods were installed to fix graphical bugs such as vertex explosions. In July 2025 version 0.10.0 added an experimental feature called readbacks that solved the vertex explosions.

Compatibility

As of June 2025, 162 titles are listed by shadPS4 as being "in game", while 70 titles are listed as being "playable".

References

{{Sony emulators Cross-platform software Free video game console emulators Free software programmed in C++ Linux emulation software MacOS emulation software Software that uses Qt Sony emulators Windows emulation software

Development

Bloodborne

Compatibility

See also

References