shadPS4 update brings major PS4 emulation fixes, better graphics and Intel CPU support

shadPS4 has received a new update, and it tackles a long list of issues that could stop games from booting, break graphics or cause crashes on certain PC hardware. It’s not a flashy release built around one huge feature. Instead, it fixes a lot of the things that matter once you actually start running PS4 games on a PC. The new build, codenamed UltraPersona, brings changes to the emulator’s kernel, graphics code, video playback, networking, audio and interface. It also includes a useful fix for owners of newer Intel processors.

The shadPS4 update fixes boot problems and Intel CPU crashes

One of the biggest changes is a rewrite of the kernel event flag system. That sounds pretty technical, but the result is simple: some games that previously struggled to get past the boot process now behave better.

Shadow of the Colossus is one of the main examples. Earlier builds could hang while starting the game. The update changes the way shadPS4 handles those event flags, helping the game reach its menus more reliably. There’s also an interesting fix for Intel users.

The update adds experimental red-zone protection for 12th-generation Intel processors and newer models. The problem involved the way Windows handles exceptions and stack memory. In certain situations, that could interfere with memory a PS4 game expected to remain untouched. The result? Crashes, strange behaviour or games simply refusing to cooperate.

The emulator also now loads guest modules below the 4 GiB boundary and adds a /dev/zero device. Several system exports have been added too, helping shadPS4 handle more of the functions that PS4 software expects to find.

Video playback gets some attention

Video playback has been a problem area in plenty of emulators, and shadPS4 is no exception. The update improves low-level support for AvPlayer, allowing games to use the relevant PS4 AvPlayer modules through low-level emulation. That can fix broken or missing video playback in titles that rely heavily on those system components.

The emulator now flushes video decoder buffers at the end of packets as well. Audio gets a smaller fix. AudioOut had a deadlock issue when stopping sound, and that’s been addressed in this release.

Networking support has moved forward too. shadPS4 now includes NpTus functionality, along with fixes for NpWebApi2 response-header functions. Trophy handling has also been cleaned up, including issues involving platinum trophies.

Graphics fixes target Persona, inFAMOUS and Gravity Rush 2

Graphics work makes up another big part of the update. The emulator now supports additional FMask formats, changes how it handles stencil operations and includes several fixes to its shader recompiler. These changes aren’t just buried technical tweaks. They can make a visible difference once a game is running.

Persona titles now get improved shadows, while effects in inFAMOUS and Gravity Rush 2 have also been corrected. The shader system has received fixes for cubed-array layers, clip planes and certain multiply-add operations. In practical terms, those changes can help reduce rendering glitches and improve compatibility across different graphics cards. There’s still plenty of variation from one game to another, though.

Performance still depends heavily on the game

shadPS4 performance remains all over the place, which isn’t surprising at this stage. In testing with an Intel Arc B580 and Ryzen 5 7500F, Bloodborne could reach around 90 fps at 1080p. That’s a strong result.

The Order: 1886 ran closer to 30 fps on the same setup, while Driveclub managed around 14 fps. NHL 18 and Uncharted 3 Remastered came close to 30 fps, and God of War III Remastered sat at roughly 23 to 24 fps.

P.T. performed much better, reaching around 60 fps for much of the test. MediEvil could also hit 60 fps, although the frame rate wasn’t completely stable. Another test of The Order: 1886 using a GeForce RTX 5060 Ti reached around 60 fps. Visual problems were still present, however.

That’s the key point. A high frame rate doesn’t automatically mean a game is fully working. You can have 60 fps and still run into broken lighting, missing effects, crashes or other game-specific problems.

Smaller changes make shadPS4 easier to use

The update also brings a handful of quality-of-life improvements. There’s a new –mount command-line option, better command-line parsing and changes to Big Picture Mode. Games launched through Big Picture Mode now start in a clean process, which should help avoid some unwanted behaviour between sessions.

The update checker has been fixed for certain archive and folder setups too. External frame-rate counters now work correctly, while the built-in frame information overlay can show draw-call and dispatch counts. Play-time tracking has also been updated so shadPS4 records the last time each game was launched.

None of these changes transforms the emulator overnight. That isn’t really what this update is about. It’s a wide-ranging release that fixes specific crashes, improves rendering, adds missing system functions and pushes more games a little further. For shadPS4, that steady work is what matters most right now.

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