RPCS3 Breakthrough: Twisted Metal Now Runs Above 60 FPS on the PS3 Emulator
RPCS3 has reached another major milestone in PlayStation 3 emulation. The development team behind the popular PS3 emulator has revealed that Twisted Metal can now run at more than 60 FPS, even reaching around 70 FPS under the right conditions.
That is a big achievement because Twisted Metal is known as one of the most demanding PlayStation 3 games to emulate. Originally released in 2012, the game targeted 30 FPS at 720p on Sony’s PS3 hardware. Despite those modest original targets, the game is extremely difficult to run smoothly through emulation because it makes heavy use of the PS3’s Synergistic Processing Units, better known as SPUs.
The PlayStation 3’s unusual Cell processor architecture has always been one of the biggest challenges for emulator developers. Games that rely heavily on SPUs often require a very powerful modern CPU to run well on RPCS3. Twisted Metal is one of the clearest examples of that challenge.
According to the RPCS3 team, achieving more than 60 FPS in Twisted Metal required the emulator’s “Max Performance Tier.” In the shared test, the game reportedly hit around 70 FPS using Linux and a Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor. This shows just how far RPCS3 has come, but it also highlights how demanding this specific game remains.
Not every gaming PC will be able to deliver similar results. When asked about expected performance on a system with a Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, 32 GB of RAM, and an RX 5700 GPU, the RPCS3 team explained that this setup would likely perform well below 30 FPS in Twisted Metal. The reason is simple: the game places an unusually heavy load on the CPU, and older six-core processors may struggle to keep up.
For players hoping to run Twisted Metal at 60 FPS or higher on RPCS3, a high-end processor is still essential. GPU power matters in some cases, but for this particular game, CPU performance is the key factor. A strong modern CPU with excellent single-threaded and multi-threaded performance will make the biggest difference.
Even with this impressive performance milestone, Twisted Metal has not yet been officially marked as “Playable” by the RPCS3 team. For a game to receive that status, it must be playable from start to finish with stable performance and without game-breaking glitches. That means work is still ongoing to improve compatibility, reduce bugs, and make the experience more reliable for everyday users.
RPCS3 has continued to improve through regular updates, performance fixes, and graphics-related patches. Over time, more PlayStation 3 games have moved closer to accurate, smooth, and stable emulation. Twisted Metal reaching above 60 FPS is another sign that even some of the console’s toughest titles are becoming more accessible on modern PCs.
For fans of PS3 emulation, this is an exciting step forward. Twisted Metal has long been considered a difficult test case for RPCS3, and seeing it break past its original 30 FPS target shows how much progress the emulator has made. While most users will still need powerful hardware to enjoy this level of performance, the achievement brings RPCS3 one step closer to its goal of making the PlayStation 3 library playable with high performance and minimal issues.
