The PlayStation 5 has been jailbroken — but it’s not stable just yet

Nearly two years after its release, the PlayStation 5 has been officially jailbroken, which opens the way for homebrew and privacy on the system. The jailbreak was showcased in a tweet by known modder Lance McDonald, with the unnamed hacker scrolling through the systems Debug Mode and installing P.T., the Silent Hill demo famously removed by Konami back in 2015.

McDonald also tweeted that went over the in-depth details on this new exploit and how to implement it yourself, but given the sketchy nature of jailbreaking, we’ll skip on posting or sharing that process here.

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Despite this news, this jailbreak won’t likely be making the rounds just yet due to its many limitations. It’s reported to only have a 30% success rate, and even if it is successful, the jailbreak is currently believed to only work on firmware 4.03, which was released way backing October 2021. Additionally, this jailbreak only gives read/write access and is unable to execute anything that is installed, so in the case of McDonald, he has P.T. installed, but cannot actually launch the game yet.

Those unfamiliar with the term, jailbreaking is the process of exploiting the flaws and weaknesses of a system (in this case the PS5), and by doing so can allow others to work around protections and install their own software and have full access to operating systems and all the consoles features. Typically, this is done to install homebrew software or pirate games. Naturally, you can imagine Sony will be keeping a close eye on any developments with this jailbreak.

Even with its limitations, many hackers and modders see this as the first step in fully cracking the system open, and no doubt many will use this news as a starting point to continue working away at the system. What you do with your systems is up to you, but if you decide to explore this further it’s worth noting that jailbreaking can be a punishable offense in some countries depending on what and how you use them. Doing so also can render your console useless, as well as void any warranties and get your PlayStation account banned, so pursue this at your own risk.

About the author

Matthew Fuller

Matt is a freelance writer based in the UK and has spent over three years covering and writing about video games. He discovered his love of games journalism while attending Canterbury Christchurch University, where he earned a bachelor's and master's degree in Game Design and has been writing ever since. He will find any excuse to play and write about games. When he isn't fighting dragons or exploring far-off galaxies, he spends his free time playing D&D, listening to music, or reading a good book. His primary game bests are Diablo IV, the Final Fantasy series, D&D, and anything new releasing that tickles his fancy.

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