PS5: Gravity Rush 2 (PS4 ver.) @60 FPS – Progress on libhijacker means game mods are now a thing on PS5

Developer Illusion has showcased Gravity Rush 2 (PS4 Game) running at 60FPS on the PS5. Thanks to improvements on Astrelsky‘s libhijacker, mods and patches are now a possibility on the PS5, at least for PS4 games.

Illusion has taken to Gravity rush 2, a PS4 game he had already modded for 60FPS a long time ago on the PS4, to demonstrate that it is now possible to do the same on (hacked) PS5s. We’re of course talking of a PS4 game running on the PS5 here, and patching/modding native PS5 games is still potentially out of reach.

Update: I initially stated that this was limited to PS4 games. Illusion has now confirmed the same is indeed possible on PS5 games (showcasing the PS5 version of Uncharted Legacy of thieves), which makes this even more exciting

 

What is libhijacker for the PS5?

Libhijacker is a mechanism to run separate processes (homebrew) on the PS5, “escaping” the initially hacked process (either Webbkit or BD-JB). This means, among other things, that exiting the original Webkit/Bluray player process doesn’t close the exploit anymore, so running a game (official or homebrew) while still being in a “hacked” context is now doable.

In other words, this means things such as running a homebrew, or, in this case, modding a game such as Gravity rush 2 at runtime is now a possibility. Think patches, cheats, 60 FPS mods, and the like.

 

This is exciting because developers such as illusion have a huge library of mods and patches for the PS4, including a lot of 60 FPS mods. While those were often constrained on the PS4 due to limited resources, compromises were often necessary, such as the need to reduce resolution to run at 60 FPS. The PS5 being a much more powerful machine, this opens the possibility to patch many PS4 games for 60FPS support, with little to no compromises.

 

More PS4/PS5 Game mods coming to PS5

Gravity rush 2 is of course just an example, but I’m betting that many of Illusion’s other patches could work with this context. The developer has also showcased some debug menus working on the PS5, for example (always, of course, on PS4 games) (update: this screenshot actually shows the PS5 version of Uncharted Legacy of Thieves collection being modded).

At the moment, Illusion’s work is supported on firmwares 3.xx and 4.xx (see here for PS5 hackable firmwares)

Hacked PS5s are getting more interesting every day

Hacked PS5s remain somewhat limited, but it is becoming clear that with time and effort from the involved hackers, the possibilities are slowly but surely expanding. Libhijacker also increases what can be done via the webkit exploit, according to Zecoxao:

 

It is also believed that FPKG support (fake package installation) could come sooner than later for PS5s.

Downloads/Links

Illusion hasn’t published an explanation on how he’s been running the 60 FPS mod, so we’ll have to wait for that. In the meantime, the latest and greatest code of libhijacker, which is enbabling that, can be found here. Details on how to hack your PS5 can be found here.