Multiple credible leaks have claimed that Sony is looking to make native PS3 backward compatibility available on PS5.

Though the PlayStation Plus Classics Catalog does make it possible to play select PS3 games on PS5, currently, that’s only possible via cloud streaming, though it’s being claimed that native backward compatibility for PS3 titles could be coming to Sony’s current-gen console soon.

The same was claimed in a recent episode of the XboxEra Podcast by XboxEra co-founder Nick Baker, while journalist Jeff Grubb also made similar claims on his Giant Bomb podcast, Game Mess Mornings. Allegedly, native emulation of PS3 titles on PS5 is being worked on at Sony, though when exactly that will be made available to users worldwide remains to be seen.

Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that such rumours have emerged. Grubb made claims that native PS3 emulation was in the works for PS5 back in 2022 as well.

If native emulation of PS3 titles does become available on PS5, that could potentially free up a significant number of fan-favourite titles that have been shackled to the PS3’s library exclusively for years, including the likes of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of Liberty, Killzone 2 and 3, Insomniac Games’ Resistance trilogy, and more.