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RPCS3 is a Sony Playstation 3 Emulator.

RPCS3 Table of Contents

Getting Started with RPCS3

How to Install RPCS3

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The Basics

$HOME or ~ refer to your home directory. On a typical linux distro, the full path will be \$HOME/\$USER. On a Steam Deck, the full path will be /home/deck. When navigating using the file manager, the file manager may not be display the username visually in the full file path.

Directories with a . in front of their name, like $HOME/.steam, are hidden by default. In Dolphin (a file manager), click the hamburger menu in the top right and toggle on Show Hidden Files. The setting may vary depending on which file manager you are using.

$HOME/Applications refers to the Applications folder in your home directory. On a typical linux distro, the full path will be \$HOME/\$USER/Applications. On a Steam Deck, the full path will be /home/deck/Applications. When navigating using the file manager, the file manager may not display the username visually in the full file path. The Applications folder is not created by default. If you have not created one already, do so before following the steps in this section.

On Linux, the official packaging method for RPCS3 is an AppImage.

To download RPCS3:

  1. Open the RPCS3 website, https://rpcs3.net/download
  2. Click the Download button in the Linux box.
  3. Move the downloaded AppImage to $HOME/Applications.
  4. Right click the AppImage, click Properties, click Permissions, check Is Executable.
  5. Double click the AppImage to run RPCS3.
  6. (Optional) For easier maintenance, rename the AppImage to rpcs3.AppImage

How to Configure RPCS3

How to Configure Multiplayer

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Steam Input

This section assumes you are using an emulator through Steam and will be using the Steam Virtual Gamepad as the primary device for your controller. If you are not using Steam Input, make sure to select the appropriate controller option (which will typically match your controller name).

RPCS3 comes with a nifty auto-map feature that makes setting up multiplayer a breeze. To set up multiplayer, you simply need to enable the additional ports.

  1. Open RPCS3
  2. Open the Pads menu in the Settings
  3. For each controller you are using for Player 2, 3, 4, etc, click the respective tab
    • You do not need to adjust any settings for Player 1
  4. Under Handlers, select SDL for each player you are enabling
  5. Under Devices
    • Player 2: Steam Virtual Gamepad 2
    • Player 3: Steam Virtual Gamepad 3
    • Player 4: Steam Virtual Gamepad 4
    • Player 5: Steam Virtual Gamepad 5
    • Player 6: Steam Virtual Gamepad 6
    • Player 7: Steam Virtual Gamepad 7
  6. Using Player 2 as an example:
    • On the Player 2 configuration screen, after you have selected the appropriate Device and Handler, click Refresh to the right of Handler
  7. After you are finished enabling any additional players, click Save and you may open your game either directly as a shortcut in Steam or through ES-DE and Pegasus
  8. (Optional) You may need to re-arrange the controller order in Game Mode for your controllers to function as expected. See How to Re-Arrange the Controller Order to learn how

How to Set up the Motion Sensor with External Controllers

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The PlayStation 3 controller, or the DualShock 3 notably had "Sixaxis". Sixaxis refers to the motion sensor used in a handful of games. One of the more popular games that utilized Sixaxis was Folklore. For a full list of games, see https://www.giantbomb.com/sixaxis-support/3015-5310/games/.

RPCS3 has implemented support to allow emulating the Sixaxis through evdev, which exposes the gyro in a large variety of modern controllers (including the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, 8BitDo Ultimate Controller, and the DualSense).

At this time, the Steam Deck gyro cannot be used. But if you own one of these controllers, you may emulate the Sixaxis through RPCS3.

Steam Input

This section assumes you are using an emulator through Steam and will be using the Steam Virtual Gamepad as the primary device for your controller. If you are not using Steam Input, make sure to select the appropriate controller option (which will typically match your controller name).

  1. If Steam is open, exit out of Steam
    • You may exit out of Steam a couple of different ways:
      * Right click the `Steam` icon in your taskbar and click `Exit Steam`
* Open Steam, click the `Steam` button in the top left, click `Exit`
* Open a terminal (Konsole) and enter `killall -9 steam`
* Do note that clicking the the `X` button in the top right of the Steam window **will not** exit out of Steam
    • If using a Steam Deck, your controls will switch to Lizard Mode. Use L2 to right click, R2 to left click, and the Right Trackpad to move the mouse
      * You may also connect an external keyboard and mouse
  2. Connect your controller using bluetooth
  3. Open RPCS3
  4. Click Pads at the top
  5. Under the Player 1 tab, click the Dropdown box below Devices and select your controller
    • To switch back to the default controller layout, make sure Steam is open and select Steam Virtual Gamepad 1
  6. Click Save, and exit out of RPCS3

Game Mode

  1. In Game Mode, connect your controller
  2. Select your PlayStation 3 game
  3. On the Play screen, select the Controller icon to the right of the screen
  4. Select your controller tab at the top
  5. Click Reorder Controllers and move your external controller to the top
  6. Click the Gear icon to the right, and click Disable Steam Input
    • You may need to restart first for this setting to properly apply
  7. Your controller's gyro will now work for this selected game, repeat as needed for your other games

Post-Configuration

To restore the default controls:

  1. Open RPCS3
  2. Click Pads at the top
  3. Under the Player 1 tab, click the Dropdown box below Devices and select Steam Virtual Gamepad 1
  4. Select SDL under Handlers
  5. Click Save, and exit out of RPCS3

(Optional) To restore Steam Input:

  1. Select your PlayStation 3 game
  2. On the Play screen, select the Controller icon to the right of the screen
  3. Select your controller tab at the top
  4. Click the Gear icon to the right, and click Enable Steam Input
    • You may need to restart first for this setting to properly apply
  5. The controls will be reverted to Steam Input and the Steam Deck controls will be restored

How to Roll Back RPCS3 to an Older Version

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  1. Download the version of the emulator you would like to use from RPCS3's Builds page: https://rpcs3.net/compatibility?b
  2. Move the downloaded emulator from Step 1 to /home/deck/Applications
  3. (Optional) Rename or delete the original emulator file
  4. Right click the newly downloaded emulator, click Properties, click Permissions, check Is executable
  5. Your games will now launch using the version of the emulator you downloaded

How to Configure Language Settings

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In-Game

  1. In Desktop Mode, open RPCS3
  2. At the top, click Configuration, click System
  3. Below Console Language, select your preferred language in the drop-down menu