It is possible to get Linux up and running on a launch edition PlayStation 5 console to play PC games with full access to Steam, according to Tweak Town.
Based on the work of researcher Andy Nguyen, you can turn a PlayStation 5 into a Steam Machine-like device that runs Linux as its operating system. But, as you may expect, it's not an easy mod, and there are several caveats to getting Linux up and running on a PS5.
Tech wizards at Digital Foundry made it clear, that this only works on a launch-era PlayStation 5 running system software (firmware) up to version 4.5. That firmware dates back to December 2021, so finding a Linux-ready PlayStation 5 console to play Steam games could be quite difficult. But if you do, PS5 Linux leverages an exploit to boot the operating system from a USB stick, which can also be installed in the console's M.2 SSD expansion slot to boost speeds.
PS5 Linux offers 15GB of memory, all eight cores of the Zen 2 processor boosted to 3.5 GHz, and all 36 CUs of the RDNA 2 GPU clocked at 2.23 GHz. The tool also provides access to cooling, with the option to boost fan speeds to compensate for overclocking. The output resolution was locked to 1080p, but still Digital Foundry was able to test gaming performance and compare that to the same games running natively on the console.
As the benchmarks and tests were limited to games that run at 1080p on the PS5 console, the pool of compatible titles in these tests were limited. But for the most part games like Crimson Desert and Pragmata hit similar frame-rates due to the Proton compatibility layer to play PC games.
Emulation has now took one more step forward.