RetroArch Vita3K Core: Setup, Firmware, PKG Licenses and Feature Limits

Vita3K is an experimental PlayStation Vita emulator, and the libretro core ports it into RetroArch. The core is built on current upstream Vita3K and on danprice142's libretro port, and it reports upstream's version. Game compatibility therefore matches standalone Vita3K rather than a separate list.

Requirements and video driver

You need a 64-bit CPU and a GPU with Vulkan 1.1 support. By default the core renders on RetroArch's own Vulkan device, so RetroArch's video driver must be set to vulkan. The Backend Renderer core option also offers OpenGL, which requires the glcore video driver instead.

• Builds listed for the core:
• - Linux (x86_64, arm64)
• - Windows (x64)
• - Android

Firmware (PS Vita system software)

The core requires the PS Vita system software, which is not bundled with it. Download the packages from PlayStation's website and place them in a vita3k folder inside RetroArch's system directory. The core installs them the first time it starts.

Loading games

Games load either as a .vpk or .zip archive, or from a game folder through its eboot.bin. On first launch the game is installed into system/vita3k/, and from then on it starts from that installed copy. The documented file extensions are .vpk, .zip, .pkg and .bin.

PKG files and licenses

A .pkg file — whether a game, its update or its DLC — needs its license placed next to it. Accepted license filenames are <name>.zrif, <name>.rif, work.bin or <CONTENT_ID>.rif. The Game PKG core option controls whether a game's PKG runs straight from the file or is installed first.

Supported and unsupported RetroArch features

• Documented as supported: Restart, Screenshots, Core Options, Controls, Remapping and Sensors.

• Documented as not supported: Save States, RetroArch save files (games save to the emulated memory card instead), Rewind, Netplay, memory monitoring for achievements, RetroArch cheats, native cheats, multi-mouse, rumble, camera, location, subsystem, softpatching, disk control, username, language, crop overscan and LEDs.

In-game saves go to the emulated console's memory card under system/vita3k/ux0/, not to RetroArch save files. Save states are not supported.