No. 33 of 35 ·Game Console Emulators

ShadPS4

Windows · Mac · Linux

Freedom report

Two barsScore 5.4

Free tierA free tier is on its own pricing page
Open codeNo open-source code on record
Runs widely3 of 6 device platforms
DocumentedThinly documented

ShadPS4 is ranked #33 of 35 in game console emulators on Freedom251. It runs on Linux, macOS, Windows. There is a free plan.

ShadPS4 plans and pricing

All plans

shadPS4 Free early development · game compatibility varies shadps4.net · 8 Oct 2026

Compared on game console emulators

Free plan: Yes
Supported console systems: PlayStation 4
Desktop operating systems: cross-platform
Netplay: No
Graphics upscaling: Yes
Open source: Yes
License type: open-source

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The record

Purpose: shadPS4 is an early PlayStation 4 emulator written in C++.
Launcher: The Qt launcher provides a graphical interface and can download stable and nightly emulator versions.
Command line: The standalone emulator releases contain no GUI and run from the terminal.
Game compatibility: The project says many games do not work, and games that do work usually have emulation issues.
Graphics requirement: The minimum GPU requirement is at least 2 GB of VRAM and Vulkan 1.3 with specified extensions.
System requirements: The guide specifies at least 8 GB RAM and Windows 10, Ubuntu 22.04, or macOS 15.4.
Game files: Games, updates, and DLC must be dumped from the user's own copy of the game.
Firmware: Users can provide dumped PS4 firmware modules to improve game compatibility where modules are not yet implemented.
Features: The v0.16.0 release post lists local multiplayer support, Big Picture Mode, screenshots, and an initial OpenAL audio backend.
Privacy: The privacy policy says hardware, operating system, configuration, game, and version information may appear in local logs and is not automatically transmitted to the project.
Website data: The privacy policy says the project uses cookies for login sessions and language preferences and retains forum and wiki IP addresses for anti-abuse purposes.
Support: The site directs users to Discord for help, questions, and general discussion.
Contributions: The site welcomes pull requests and invites users to file issues or contribute code.
Funding: The site describes Ko-fi donations as optional and says they help cover development costs such as hardware, games, and project maintenance.
Price from: Free

Where it ranks on Freedom251

Best Game Console Emulators in 2026#33 of 35

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Sources

shadps4.net· checked 8 Oct 2026
shadps4.net/downloads/· checked 8 Oct 2026
shadps4.net/quickstart/· checked 8 Oct 2026
shadps4.net/blog/shadps4-v0160-codename-plutie-fuel· checked 8 Oct 2026
shadps4.net/about/privacy-policy/· checked 8 Oct 2026