Controversial PS2 Emulator Launches on Android
- A new Android PS2 emulator has been criticized for using AI and charging $8.49 for PCSX2 code.
- ARMSX2 team calls it a low-effort paid fork ahead of their own free release.
- Other PlayStation 2 emulators based on the same source code are also being released for free.
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Vibe Code Drama
Gamers have no shortage of emulators to choose from when it comes to playing retro and classic titles on either handhelds or cellphones, with PlayStation games particularly well covered. However, a new PS2 app, PSX2, has recently appeared on the Play Store for $8.49 and immediately drawn the ire of other coders in the emulation community.
PSX2 is the work of a solo dev, izzy2lost, but is based on the well-known PCSX2 emulator. Part of the controversy stems from izzy2lost forking (making their own version of the code) from an existing PCSX2_ARM64 branch (an Android version of PCSX2) which they’re then charging for. However, while this is allowed via the code’s license, other developers have slammed PSX2 for also being a low-effort AI vibe-coded project.
“I admitted to using AI, but not for the whole app and there are many changes,” izzy2lost posted on Reddit on Oct. 7 under a post advertising PSX2. “(This is) a personal grudge held against me by the developers of ARMSX2, which still does not have a source code or release in sight, while my app is compliant to the license and all source is open.”
Emulator Vs Emulator
Although the emulation community is generally well-behaved, with disparate coders all working towards a common goal, conflict of interest can arise. The emulator mentioned by izzy2lost, ARMSX2, also covers PlayStation 2 games and works on Android. Crucially, it’s also a fork of PCSX2_ARM64 but one built by a team. It’s set to receive its own Play Store launch on Oct. 20 (for free), at which point it’ll also go open source.
The ARMS64 version was originally created by pontos2024 as a university project and is technically unfinished, which is part of the reason why others have used it as the basis for their own PS2 apps. Pontos2024 does have a separate Android app for PlayStation 2, however, called MYPS2, which is free.
AetherSX2 and NetherSX2 are two common PS2 emulators most in the community already know about; Nether is a newer version of Aether that last received a big update by its coder, Trixarian, at the end of September. Trixarian is also working on EtherealSX2: “Its main purpose is to be an up to date port of PCSX2 for modern mobile devices while being a proper successor to AetherSX2.”
Forks And Branches
Developing new code based on an existing project is a big part of the open source community, with popular examples outside emulation including game engine Godot and operating system Linux. But back within emulation circles, even one of ARMSX2’s main devs, Stern, has diverged from the project to work on his own version (he’s also involved with Xbox-related emulation).
However, unlike the drama unfolding around izzy2lost (their original Reddit post advertising PSX2 has since been removed by a mod who appeared in the PSCX2 Discord to find out what was happening), Stern and the remaining ARMSX2 devs are still on good terms. Global Vigilante, the emulator’s founder, shared a message from Stern on the ARMSX2 Discord on Oct. 7.
“I am working on my own PSCX2 fork for Android,” they said. “I still plan to contribute my changes to ARMSX2 once it’s open source. Despite creative differences, this is how I believe things should be handled in the emulation community. Not making money by paywalling an AI-coded proof of concept from a uni student.”
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