Armored Core 4, Ridge Racer 7, Tekken 5, and Ridge Racer 7 are among the 2000s classics that can now be played online on the PlayStation 3 emulator

RPCS3 is a PS3 emulator that's a marvel: it can boot the entire PS3 library and tame the notoriously complex Cell chip to make PlayStation 3 compatible with any modern PC. Its emulation extends to online play of certain games that are playable via PSN. This functionality was just boosted this week with a brand new update. Support for FromSoftware’s Armored Core 4 & Armored Core For Answer, racing game Ridge Racer 7 & Wangan Midnight and fighter Tekken 5 were all added.

This update to RPCS3 allows you to play some of these games, like Armored Core, via emulation PSN's Matchmaking Service, simplifying the game entry process. RPCS3 comes with a companion called RPCN. This is "an open source server that emulates P2P matchmaking on the PlayStation 3." RPCN 1.3 was released yesterday and adds a few PSN functions used by some games in their matchmaking implementations. Now they are playable.

Here's a list that includes the games that have been confirmed to work from RPCS3 Discord. There are likely other games as well.

• Armored Core 4
• Armored Core for Answer
• Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit
• OutRun Online Arcade
• Ridge Racer 7
• Super Puzzle Fighter 2 Turbo HD
• Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo HD Mix
• Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection
• The Punisher - No Mercy
• Top Spin 3
• Wangan Midnight

RipleyTom, the developer who created this update, noted in its Github notes that they had also fixed server implementations of all Arc System Works PS3 fighting games. This includes Persona 4 Arena, multiple BlazBlues, and more. Soul Calibur 5 should now also work.

This update is mainly for games that use older versions of PSN’s player-matching interfaces. Many games are already playable via netplay in the emulator, but others won't because they use their own unique implementation. Online play will only work for those games if someone reverse-engineers their original code to create a customized server. It's possible, even though it takes a lot of work. Metal Gear Solid 4’s online component, MGO2, uses custom PC servers. This has been the case since 2021.

RPCN emulates PSN’s basic matchmaking system but can also connect with fan-made private server where they exist. There's a compatibility page that's not up-to-date but shows which games are playable.

If you're interested in trying out any of the new features, check out our guide on how to get netplay running in RPCS3.