PS5 version of Dead Cells is now running natively on Windows

Dead Cells is now running on Windows using code from its PlayStation 5 release, and it doesn’t rely on a traditional PS5 emulator to make it work. The project uses the AnyPS5 framework to turn the console executable into a native Windows program, swap out the PS5-specific system interfaces, and convert the game’s graphics shaders for Vulkan. The result is a working PC build based directly on Motion Twin’s PS5 version of Dead Cells. There is one clear limitation for now: compatibility is restricted to a single tested release, so this isn’t a way to run the wider PS5 library on Windows.

PS5 code running as a Windows program

A traditional emulator tries to reproduce enough of a console’s hardware and operating environment for original software to run inside it. AnyPS5 takes another route. It works with the game executable itself, relinking its x86-64 code into a form Windows can load directly.

Console system calls still need replacements. Graphics need translation too. For Dead Cells, the project swaps expected PS5 libraries for compatible implementations and recompiles graphics shaders into SPIR-V, ready for Vulkan. There’s no separate CPU emulation layer here. Windows ends up running a converted version of the original console executable.

Native doesn’t mean simple. PS5 software expects Sony’s APIs, libraries and graphics behaviour, none of which arrive with Windows. Each missing function needs a compatible replacement before a game can get very far.

Why Dead Cells suits this approach

Sony’s PlayStation 5 uses an AMD Zen 2-based x86-64 processor paired with RDNA 2 graphics hardware. Modern gaming PCs use many of the same broad architectural ideas, so the project doesn’t need to translate code from a completely different CPU instruction set. The overlap gives AnyPS5 a useful starting point. Much of the work shifts to software, including console libraries, system services, graphics calls and input.

A 2D game such as Dead Cells presents a very different workload from a large 3D release with heavier use of Sony’s platform features. So this working build doesn’t establish broad compatibility. It shows one route for one title.

Performance is already playable on the test system

The current build reaches regular gameplay with music, sound effects and controls working. Keyboard, mouse and gamepads are supported. PlayStation button icons remain on screen, since the program still comes from the PS5 release. On a Ryzen 7 5800X3D paired with a GeForce RTX 5070 Ti, reported performance sits around 55 to 60fps in indoor sections at 4K. Outdoor areas run closer to 30 to 35fps.

Those numbers describe the current build on one PC. They aren’t a target for other hardware. The software currently calls for 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11, suitable Vulkan graphics support and 16GB of RAM as the recommended memory figure.

Only one PS5 release works for now

Compatibility is narrow. The project has been tested with the PS5 Return to Castlevania Edition of Dead Cells, identified as PPSA15552. Other patches, editions and regional builds haven’t been confirmed.

It doesn’t bundle the commercial game data, PlayStation firmware, encryption keys or Sony software. Anyone experimenting with it needs the required files from their own copy. The project is a compatibility layer and relinking effort, not a packaged PC release of the PS5 game.

Dead Cells has a long multiplatform history

Dead Cells reached its full release in 2018 after spending time in early access. Motion Twin built the game around quick side-scrolling combat, procedurally generated areas and roguelite progression. Death sends the player to the start of a new run, with selected permanent upgrades carrying across attempts.

The game later appeared on consoles and mobile devices, picked up years of updates and expansions, and passed 10 million copies sold by 2023. Evil Empire took on much of the post-launch development from 2019.

A dedicated PS5 version arrived on 29 June 2023. Return to Castlevania, released in the same year, added areas, weapons and characters inspired by Konami’s Castlevania series. It’s this PS5 branch of Dead Cells which now serves as the test case for AnyPS5 on Windows.

A different route from full PS5 emulation

The main technical result is clear. The project can take one commercial PS5 executable, relink its original x86-64 code, replace enough console-facing services and produce a standalone Windows program. It’s not broad PS5 compatibility. It doesn’t make larger releases automatically work, either.

For now, Dead Cells is one working example. It gives AnyPS5 a concrete test case and shows how native relinking can sit beside conventional emulation as another way to get console software running on PC hardware.

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