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A modified PlayStation 5 has gained another unusual feature. XPSemu has been created, a port of the xemu emulator for the original Xbox that runs directly as an app on a jailbroken PS5. The first public Alpha version can already run, among others, Halo 2, Forza Motorsport, Fable: The Lost Chapters, and Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex.
Halo 2 runs even at 60 fps
XPSemu is not a simple wrapper. The emulator uses QEMU to emulate the original Xbox's CPU, Vulkan for graphics rendering, and runs as a native app on the PS5. The project also has its own Xbox-style interface, per-game settings, and the ability to scale resolution up to 4x. In initial tests Halo 2 reaches 30 fps by default, and with a 60 fps patch it can run at about 36 to 50 fps during gameplay and up to 60 fps in lighter scenes. Forza Motorsport, meanwhile, manages roughly 15 to 21 fps during races, and Fable: The Lost Chapters typically runs 22 to 30 fps, though performance drops in more demanding scenes. Interestingly, the biggest limitation isn't the PS5's GPU but the CPU. The developer says the emulated Xbox CPU thread can use 85 to 97 percent of the PS5's allotted CPU time, while the graphics chip often remains largely underutilized.
Xbox 360 and Windows are coming too
The experiments don't stop there. A separate project has already shown early emulation of the Xbox 360 on PS5, although there is not yet a public release or a list of compatible games. In parallel, PS5 Proton is being developed to allow running Windows games and applications directly on a modified console. For now, however, both projects are at a much earlier stage than XPSemu. It must also be emphasized that this does not work on a regular PS5. XPSemu requires a jailbreak, appropriate homebrew software, and its own system files and copies of games from the original Xbox.
For now, then, this is primarily an interesting showcase of what the homebrew community can do, not a new PlayStation feature available to every user.
Sources: GitHub @ZiZc3, VideoCardz
