ARMSX3 for iOS

Experimental ARM64/JIT PlayStation 3 emulation for iPhone and iPad.
A standalone feasibility build created for future EmuHub integration.

_{Real V0.35 captures from an iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 15.3.}

Additional device capture: XMB

Warning

This is an early pre-alpha. Compatibility, graphics, performance, input, and stability vary by title. Do not interpret a successful boot or menu as confirmed gameplay support.

What Works

• A real ARM64/JIT ARMSX3 core on iOS 15+, with official PS3 firmware import.
• Local game import plus read-only PS3NetServ/NETISO streaming for ISO and extracted-folder libraries.
• Touch controls in portrait and EmuHub PS2-style controller rails in landscape.
• External MFi/PlayStation-compatible controller input through GameController.framework.
• Warm PPU/SPU/shader caches, runtime diagnostics, graphics-cache rebuild, and controlled Stop.

The active gameplay renderer is currently Vulkan through MoltenVK. A direct native-Metal RSX backend is under development but is not selectable in the public IPA and has no gameplay claim yet.

Install

Download the current TrollStore IPA from the V0.35 prerelease, then open it in TrollStore.

• The app requires arm64 and iOS/iPadOS 15.0 or later.
• TrollStore officially supports iOS 14.0 beta 2 through 16.6.1, iOS 16.7 RC (20H18), and iOS 17.0. Because ARMSX3 requires iOS 15, its effective window starts at iOS 15.0. See TrollStore's official compatibility statement.
• iOS 16.7.x other than that RC and iOS 17.0.1+ are not supported by TrollStore.
• Official PS3 firmware and legally obtained games are required; neither is included.
• A normal free-development sideload does not preserve the JIT and memory entitlements used by this build.

Tested Status

Physical observations below span development builds through V0.34 on an iPhone 13 Pro Max running iOS 15.3. V0.35 preserves the accepted V0.33 gameplay core and repairs the app-shell rotation lifecycle. Results are scene-specific, not broad compatibility ratings.

Class	Current examples
Strong baselines	Bejeweled 3, Zuma, DuckTales Remastered, Toy Story Mania, Ratatouille, The Walking Dead
Promising / playable	LEGO Movie, Bound by Flame, Cars Race-O-Rama, Lost Planet
Runs with major issues	GTA V, Diablo III, LittleBigPlanet, Red Dead Redemption, Uncharted 1-3
Boot/runtime blocked	BioShock Infinite, Kingdom Hearts, Sonic Generations, God of War, several encrypted or modified titles

Full physical test log

Title	Latest observed result
Bejeweled 3	Gameplay works; first-run module compilation is lengthy.
Zuma	Gameplay works after title compilation.
DuckTales Remastered	Strong near-full-speed baseline; played through the first boss.
Toy Story Mania	Holds about 30 FPS; initial scene presentation can be delayed.
Ratatouille	Real 3D gameplay reached roughly 25-30 FPS.
The Walking Dead	Loads and runs around 30 FPS in the tested section.
LEGO Movie	User reports working gameplay on V0.34; long-run V0.35 retest pending.
Bound by Flame	Playable 3D baseline around 26-30 FPS with no initial visual corruption observed.
Cars Race-O-Rama	Holds about 30 FPS, with intermittent purple artifacts.
Lost Planet	Playable sections vary roughly 14-30 FPS; heavier combat dips.
LittleBigPlanet	Reached roughly 12-16 FPS, then later stalled at 0 FPS.
Diablo III	Reached 28-30 FPS with rendering glitches, then hung.
Grand Theft Auto V	Boots into 3D; roughly 6-30 FPS depending on scene/cache, with lighting artifacts, audio stutter, and long-run memory risk.
Red Dead Redemption	Boots, but heavy 3D remains roughly 2-12 FPS with severe rendering issues and crashes.
Uncharted: Drake's Fortune	Reaches gameplay around 8-12 FPS and remains crash-prone.
Uncharted 2	Reaches media/gameplay paths but has severe color/render corruption, 0-FPS stalls, and crashes.
Uncharted 3	Reaches gameplay but retains block artifacts, visual corruption, low FPS, and crashes.
BioShock Infinite	Passes the modified intro and module load, then reports a disc-read error.
Kingdom Hearts collection	Reaches version selection; tested choices stall at 0 FPS.
Hasbro Family Game Night	Reaches logos/menu after repeated boots, then black-screens or hangs.
Sonic Generations	Repeated runtime PPU compilation/0-FPS loop; no gameplay.
Sonic Unleashed	Did not reach gameplay.
Sonic the Hedgehog	Did not reach gameplay in the tested launch.
God of War	Reaches publisher logos, then stalls at 0 FPS.
Need for Speed: Carbon	Stops after the EA logo.
Gran Turismo 6	Did not boot successfully.
Wolfenstein	Did not load successfully.
Twisted Metal	Boot stops before gameplay.
The Simpsons Game	Boot failed.
The Amazing Spider-Man 2	NETISO source was rejected as an unsupported file/folder.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	NETISO source was rejected as an unsupported file/folder.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed	Decryption failure.
Tomb Raider Trilogy	Decryption failure.
Cars Mater-National Championship	Did not reach gameplay.
XMB	Boots; occasional startup audio static remains under investigation.

Project Status

The immediate engineering priority is replacing runtime Vulkan command translation with a direct Metal RSX path while preserving the proven ARM64/JIT, NETISO, cache, input, and lifecycle work. Build success is not treated as gameplay proof; releases separate static/package verification from physical title qualification.

Detailed iOS evidence and open gates are maintained in TEST_STATUS.md. Network-disc design is documented in PS3_NETWORK_DISC_DESIGN.md.

Building

The iOS build targets arm64/iOS 15 and requires Xcode plus the pinned dependencies fetched by the scripts under platforms/ios/scripts.

JOBS=1 platforms/ios/scripts/build-core-ios15.sh
platforms/ios/scripts/build-core-ipa.sh

Keep builds serial on memory-constrained Macs. The generated IPA is ad-hoc signed with the required TrollStore entitlements and must still pass independent package inspection before release.

Upstream and License

ARMSX3 for iOS is based on ARMSX3 and RPCS3. Most files are licensed under GPL-2.0-only; some components carry different compatible licenses. Check LICENSE and individual file headers for details.