Xbox Series S owners are playing PS2 games via emulation

Xbox Series X/S owners have been able to get PlayStation 2 games running on Microsoft’s new consoles using Developer Mode.

The mode, which can be accessed for a $20 fee, lets users install development builds of software that utilise Universal Windows Platform.

This includes emulators such as RetroArch, as shown via YouTube channel Modern Vintage Gamer, enabling users to play Dreamcast, GameCube, Wii, PS3 and PS2 games on Microsoft’s console.

PS2 games currently run using preview builds of RetroArch that have the PS2 emulator PCSX2 implemented.

“PCSX2 in RetroArch is currently still very much in active development and the builds that are out there have some bugs – lots of them in fact,” according to Modern Vintage Gamer, but the potential is clear to see in the site’s video below.

It shows a number of high profile PS2 games running on Xbox Series S including God of War, Metal Gear Solid 2, Jak & Daxter, Ico, TimeSplitters 2, Shadow of the Colossus, Silent Hill 2 and Gran Turismo 4.

“If you think about it, outside of PlayStation, this is the first time that PS2 games are running on a console system,” Modern Vintage Gamer says.

While the channel doesn’t possess an Xbox Series X console and so hasn’t been able to run comparison tests, it suggests most emulated games won’t perform much better on the more powerful hardware because its CPU is similar to Series S’s.

“However, the Series X will still outperform the Series S where GPU and memory bandwidth might become a factor – for things like post-processing shaders or heavier GPU scenes, the Series X will definitely perform better, but in 99% of cases, I would expect little to no change between the Xbox Series S and the Xbox Series X.”

Further reading

1

PS5 isn’t backwards compatible with PS1, PS2 or PS3 games

Sony has claimed the next-gen console will support “99%” of PS4 titles