PS5 Runs Ubuntu Now, Black Myth Wukong Hits 99.9% Performance

Researcher Andy Nguyen (TheFlow) successfully booted Ubuntu 26.04 LTS on PS5 hardware, exploiting firmware vulnerabilities in version 4.5 and below to launch Linux from external storage with full access to the Zen 2 processor's 8 cores/16 threads and 36 GPU compute units.

The performance numbers are striking. Boost mode pushes the CPU to 3.5GHz and GPU to 2.23GHz with roughly 15GB of usable unified memory. Geekbench 6 multi-core scores hit 7566—matching a Ryzen 5 3600—while single-core reaches 1127, close to a Core i7 7700. More importantly, PC games running through Steam's Proton compatibility layer show minimal overhead: Black Myth: Wukong reaches 99.9% of native system performance even without boost mode enabled, and Crimson Desert hits 98.9% in CPU-bound scenarios.

Issues exist. Crimson Desert exhibits sky rendering bugs, and Jusant stutters when VRAM usage approaches the 5.5GB limit. But Control: Ultimate Edition sustains 50-60fps with ray tracing at 1080p, proving the PS5 hardware can handle higher-framerate RT workloads—Sony and developers simply haven't pushed those settings in the native OS.

For racing game enthusiasts, this setup's real value lies in breaking the console's closed ecosystem. PS5 specs—Zen 2 architecture paired with RDNA 2 GPU—are objectively capable of more aggressive visual settings. Near-native performance under Linux suggests console limitations stem from conservative software policies rather than hardware ceilings. If Sony opened more system-level access or developers optimized more aggressively for the platform, 1080p 60fps ray tracing would be trivial.

This remains a hobbyist-only endeavor. The firmware exploit only affects version 4.5 and earlier—new units are locked out. Configuring Linux, setting up Proton, and debugging drivers require non-trivial technical skill. But it demonstrates one fact: console hardware holds far more potential than official performance profiles suggest. Whether manufacturers choose to unlock it is another question.