ARMSX3 1.0 is out, major PS3 emulation improvements to Android

September 29, 2026

ARMSX3 1.0 is now out, bringing a pretty massive update to PS3 emulation on Android.

ARMSX3 is an Android ARM64 port based on RPCS3, and this (long awaited) release includes some important changes to the emulator core, not just a new interface and version number (although, version 1.0 IS kind of a big deal).

PPU floating-point emulation has been improved to more closely match real PS3 hardware, including fixes for NaN handling, signed zero and fused multiply-add operations. There are also ARM64-specific memory barrier fixes, SPU accuracy improvements and changes that reduce memory usage while compiling larger games.

Couple of examples

Helldivers, Don’t Starve: Giant Edition and Race the Sun can now use the much faster PPU recompiler. According to the release notes, Helldivers runs at 60 FPS on an Odin 3, up from around 36 FPS with the previous workaround. Race the Sun also reaches 60 FPS, while Don’t Starve runs at its 30 FPS cap.

Burnout Paradise can now get past the junkyard section and into the open world, NBA 08 reaches gameplay, and several problems in Killzone 3 have been fixed. The Guided Fate Paradox also no longer gets stuck compiling forever.

There is a lot of new stuff outside emulation too.

ARMSX3 can now use actual PS3 .p3t themes as its library background. That includes static themes, slideshows, animated backgrounds and full 3D themes with their original animation, lighting and scripting. The developer says all 92 dynamic themes used during testing worked (kudos).

SIXAXIS motion control is supported as well. DualShock 4 and DualSense gyro can now be passed to games that use SIXAXIS, while handhelds can use their own motion sensors.

The touch controls introduced with ARMSX2 2.7 have also made their way over, including pressure settings for macros, different glide modes and improvements for handheld screens.

Other useful additions include multi-disc support, .m3u playlists, launching directly into existing save states, better DLC management and exporting installed games for frontends such as ES-DE and Daijisho, which I personally am really grateful for.

One thing to expect after updating, games will rebuild their PPU/SPU cache once because of the substantial core changes. So be patient.

PS3 emulation on Android is obviously still extremely demanding, but ARMSX3 1.0 looks like one of the more substantial steps forward so far. If in your next version you are improving stats on the same hardware, you are clearly making progress. Simple as that.