First session: what to open before a download

A search for a PS5 emulator returns at least four different programs, plus pages that only borrow the idea. On 15 Oct 2026 the public projects with official repositories were KytyPS5, SharpEmu, Prosperity, and AnyPS5. The first three are emulators. AnyPS5 is a relinker: it rewrites one executable and then the host CPU runs that code.

Those are not interchangeable. A screenshot from KytyPS5 does not tell you what AnyPS5 will do. A SharpEmu playable label belongs to that project, not to this ledger. The Prosperity v0.0.1 package is a Linux deb, and its README still lists Windows as planned.

• If you want an emulator that boots a game folder, open the comparison and then the project whose own list names your game. KytyPS5 and SharpEmu both publish Windows, Linux, and macOS archives. Their lists do not match.
• If you specifically want the AnyPS5 relinker, stay on this site's ledger. It keeps one archived official playable row, plus community reports that are labeled as community reports.
• If the page asks you to finish a survey, pay for a BIOS pack, or download PCSX5, stop. That pattern is documented separately. It is not an early build of the repositories above.

SharpEmu's compatibility page, checked on 15 Oct 2026, tracked 9,215 PS5 games and marked 97 as tested: 42 playable, 19 in game, 5 menus, 18 boots, 13 nothing. Those are community reports on that site. A 60 FPS note for a small game does not travel to a large one.

KytyPS5 publishes daily tags and a living list on its own site. A 10 Oct 2026 press summary counted 154 of 302 listed titles as reaching gameplay. This site did not recount that list on 15 Oct 2026, so the comparison page points at KytyPS5 instead of repeating the count as if we had.

Prosperity's README, as checked for this site, does not publish a numbered compatibility table. A press note about a few showcase titles is not a catalog. Until the project publishes its own database, treat coverage as small.

AnyPS5 removed COMPATIBILITY.md and pointed people at bring-up threads. The copy archived into GitHub discussion 2475 still has the old table. That table marks Dreaming Sarah (PPSA02929) as in game and playable on Windows, and unknown on Linux. The same row records 60 FPS on a GTX 1050 Ti with an i5-7500, and 36 FPS on Intel HD Graphics 620 with an i5-7200. A question mark is an untested cell, not a failure.

DOOM shareware homebrew (PPSA99666) is a second archived row, weaker than playable: Windows reaches E1M1 and later maps, Linux reaches E1M1. It is lowbit/ps5-doom, not a retail DOOM release. Later community notes for Silksong, Astro Bot, and Demon's Souls stay in the ledger as community evidence. They do not upgrade the official playable count.

v0.1.2, dated 14 Oct 2026, is a release of the relinker. The release notes are mostly new contributors. They are not a new official playable row.

A real project still needs software you are allowed to use. KytyPS5, SharpEmu, and Prosperity say they do not ship copyrighted system software or games. AnyPS5 expects a clean ELF and does not host it. This guide stops there on purpose.

• No firmware images, decryption keys, BIOS packs, or game files are hosted here.
• No steps for dumping a console, decrypting a disc, or bypassing a signature check.
• No "full PS5 library" download, and no installer that claims to include one.

If you already have a copy you are allowed to run, the install page names the official AnyPS5 release files and the folder layout. It still does not fetch the game for you. Exit code 0 from the relinker means conversion finished. It does not mean the game is playable.

• Write down the project name you actually mean. If you are unsure, use the comparison table and stop when the operating system does not match.
• Open that project's compatibility page, or this ledger for AnyPS5. If your game is missing, the result is "not listed", not a secret playable status.
• Check the PC against the requirements page. Vulkan version and CPU extensions differ by project. A big GPU does not fill in a missing extension.
• Download only from the release page linked on that project's page here. Then read errors if the process prints a reason and exits.

Most retail games are not done. Demon's Souls has a Linux experimental note of a tutorial that loads with broken 3D and a cited figure around 2 FPS. Astro Bot has an open bring-up thread and reports of freezes. NHL 27, in a 14 Oct 2026 community index, reaches team selection and then stops. Loading a match is not playable hockey.

Bloodborne is the search that most often lands on the wrong tool. It is a PS4 game. shadPS4 is a PS4 emulator. AnyPS5 does not run it. The comparison with shadPS4 is its own page so that search does not get folded into this ledger.