We recently talked about the arrival of ARMSX2, a promising new PS2 emulator for Android that’s still in development. But while the mobile scene is catching up, PCSX2 on PC has just reached a historic milestone: the emulator now supports over 99.5% of the PlayStation 2 library. A victory for video game preservation.

As reported by OC3D, PCSX2 has now reached an almost perfect level of compatibility after more than 20 years of development. Out of the 4,000+ games released for the best-selling console of all time, only four remain unrated as “Playable” or “Perfect”: DRIV3R, Final Fantasy XI (which depends on online servers that are now closed), Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects, and World Series Baseball 2K3.

A spectacular evolution in recent years

PCSX2’s progress has been remarkable: its compatibility rate increased from around 98% in 2021 to 99% by the end of 2023, and now stands at 99.5%. This improvement is the result of years of relentless work from the open-source community, with constant upgrades to the emulation engine, graphics compatibility, and performance.

Recent versions (2.4.0 released in July 2025 and subsequent updates) brought major advances: RT in RT support fixing many rendering issues, improved split-screen (Jak X and others), SDL 3.0 and Wayland by default on Linux, HDR optimizations, and a flood of bug fixes.

An essential preservation tool

Twenty-five years after the PS2’s release, original hardware is increasingly hard to find in working condition. PCSX2 ensures that the classics from this golden era remain accessible to future generations. And not just accessible — often improved, with higher resolutions, stable performance, and even HD texture pack support.

The emulator allows you to dump the BIOS from your own PS2 console and rip your physical games from their DVDs. You can then play them on your PC through emulation, often at higher resolutions and with performance boosts. It’s an excellent way to preserve your collection’s legacy and make it playable on modern hardware.

And on mobile?

As we mentioned in our article on ARMSX2, PS2 emulation on Android is also advancing. Based on recent PCSX2 code, ARMSX2 represents the future of mobile PS2 emulation thanks to its open-source nature. While its performance is still behind NetherSX2 for now, the project is evolving quickly and directly benefits from PCSX2’s ongoing improvements.

The retrogaming community now has exceptional tools to preserve and play PS2 classics — whether on PC with the near-final version of PCSX2, or on mobile with actively developed ARM emulators. God Hand, Final Fantasy X, God of War, Metal Gear Solid 3, Gran Turismo 4: all these masterpieces that shaped modern gaming remain accessible and playable.