A new homebrew emulator called XPSemu can now run original Xbox games natively on jailbroken PlayStation 5 consoles. Developed by ZiZc3, XPSemu is a PS5 port of the open-source xemu emulator, and its first public Alpha 1 build is now available. The project targets Microsoft’s original 2001 Xbox rather than Xbox 360, with early testing showing several games already booting and running at varying levels of performance.
XPSemu is not a wrapper around another frontend or a streamed solution. The emulator runs as a native PS5 application, using QEMU’s TCG JIT for emulating the original Xbox CPU and xemu’s Vulkan renderer for the NV2A graphics hardware. Rendering is handled through the open-source RADV Vulkan driver available to PS5 homebrew, while the port also integrates DualSense controls and a console-style dashboard designed specifically for use on Sony’s hardware.
The Alpha 1 release already includes several PS5-focused features beyond basic game booting. Users can create per-game settings, apply compatible patches, monitor performance, view playtime and use an Xbox-style game library with cover art. Internal resolution scaling from 1x to 4x is also supported, although performance remains heavily dependent on the emulated CPU workload rather than GPU load in many titles.
Developer-provided test results show mixed but promising performance. Halo 2 reportedly runs at 30 FPS under stock conditions and reaches roughly 36-50 FPS during gameplay when using a 60 FPS patch, while Crash Bandicoot: The Wrath of Cortex is described as running smoothly. Forza Motorsport is substantially heavier at around 15-21 FPS during races, and Fable: The Lost Chapters reportedly ranges from roughly 22-30 FPS in many areas before dropping into the 10-20 FPS range in more demanding scenes.
That uneven performance reflects XPSemu’s early state. According to the project’s documentation, the emulated Xbox CPU thread can consume most of its assigned PS5 CPU time while the GPU remains comparatively underutilized, meaning CPU emulation is currently the primary bottleneck. Raising the rendering resolution therefore has a smaller performance impact than might be expected in some games, although compatibility and speed still vary considerably from title to title.
The project requires a jailbroken PS5 capable of running native homebrew applications. That makes it especially relevant alongside recent developments such as the public PS5 13.60 jailbreak, which expanded access to homebrew on supported PS5 and PS5 Pro systems. XPSemu itself does not provide Xbox game data or the system files required by the original emulator, so users are expected to supply their own legally obtained dumps.
The release also arrives amid broader experimentation with emulation on modern PlayStation hardware. Separate projects are already bringing PlayStation 2 and Wii U emulation to jailbroken PS5 systems, while PS5 emulation on PC has also begun reaching early commercial-game boot milestones. Those efforts approach the problem from opposite directions, but both show how quickly current-generation console emulation and homebrew development are progressing.
Xbox 360 support is not part of XPSemu Alpha 1. Separate experimental work has demonstrated Xbox 360 emulation on PS5, but there is not yet a comparable public build or established compatibility list. A separate Wine/Proton-based project for running Windows software on PS5 has also been demonstrated, though that work remains at a much earlier stage than XPSemu.
For now, XPSemu should be treated as an early technical release rather than a mature replacement for running original Xbox games on established platforms. Compatibility remains limited, performance is inconsistent and the project is still labeled Alpha 1. Even so, the fact that a downloadable native PS5 application can already boot titles such as Halo 2, Forza Motorsport and Fable makes it one of the more notable recent developments in the PS5 homebrew scene.
