Cropped screenshot of Iris Adrian and Barbara Stanwyck from the film Lady of Burlesque . Image by Film screenshot, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

iris

PLAYSTATION 2 EMULATOR

iris

Iris is an open-source PlayStation 2 emulator and debugger that runs on Windows, Linux and macOS. It focuses on a clean, from-scratch implementation with a Vulkan-based GS renderer, a feature-rich debugger, and support for common disc image formats. The project is under active development and is currently alpha/experimental — many games boot but performance/

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Cropped screenshot of Iris Adrian and Barbara Stanwyck from the film Lady of Burlesque . Image by Film screenshot, via Wikimedia Commons (Public domain).

playstation 2PRIMARY SYSTEM

History documentedPROJECT BEGAN

Open sourcePROJECT MODEL

WHY IT MATTERS

Why Iris exists

Iris is a ground-up PS2 emulator aiming to provide accurate emulation, preservation of PS2-derived systems (such as the PSX DESR and some Namco arcade boards), and an integrated debugger and development-focused toolset. It is intended as an independent implementation rather than a fork of existing PS2 emulators, with an emphasis on modern rendering (Vulkan) and a modular codebase.

BEST FOR

What Iris does best

Hardware-accelerated Vulkan GS rendering (including high-quality SSAA), a developer-friendly debugger and GUI, wide disc image format support (ISO, BIN/CUE, CHD, CSO/ZSO), and cross-platform builds (Windows, Linux, macOS). The project is notable for being able to boot uncommon PS2-derived systems like the PSX DESR.

Gameplay from Shadow of the Colossus on PlayStation 2.

The people behind iris

History and current status

Iris is actively developed on GitHub with an open MIT license. The repository contains many commits and an evolving release series; the author (allkern) publishes builds and release notes on the project's GitHub Releases page and maintains documentation on a dedicated docs site. The README and release notes explicitly warn the emulator is under development: many games will boot but performance is often low because JIT/dynarec engines for the Emotion Engine (EE) and Vector Units (VU) are still under development. Iris already includes a Vulkan hardware GS renderer and other optimizations, and the project roadmap lists EE/VU JITs as upcoming work. The project also documents efforts to emulate PS2 derivatives (PSX DESR and arcade boards), and community posts and release announcements show ongoing alpha/beta releases and incremental improvements.

What iris supports

Sony PlayStation 2 (retail)
PS2-derived systems (PSX DESR and some arcade boards) — experimental
Disc image formats: ISO, BIN/CUE, CHD, CSO/ZSO
Memory card files (slot1/slot2)
Windows (build with GCC/MinGW), Linux, macOS

Download and availability

OFFICIAL DOWNLOADS

Get iris

Official builds and source are distributed from the project GitHub Releases page. Prebuilt artifacts for supported platforms are published on GitHub Releases; source is available from the repository and can be built with CMake. The project does not include any PlayStation 2 BIOS, DVD player ROMs, or commercial game files; you must supply legally obtained BIOS/ROM images and game images yourself.

Get iris ↗

DOCUMENTATION

Official documentation

Read the official configuration, compatibility, and troubleshooting material before changing advanced options.

Read official documentation ↗

Broken or missing download? Emulator projects move and official links sometimes change. Please contact Retro Replay so the source can be verified and updated.

iris setup guide

Setup note: The following setup guide is based on Iris' official README and build instructions. It covers obtaining releases, required files you must supply (BIOS/ROMs), and platform-specific build notes. Follow the project's GitHub Releases and documentation for the latest release notes and binary artifacts.

Get the official releases or source: Visit the project's GitHub repository and its Releases page to download prebuilt binaries for your platform or to get source. If you prefer building from source, clone the repository with submodules: git clone https://github.com/allkern/iris –recursive. The Releases page is the canonical place for published builds and release notes.
Required files you must provide (BIOS and optional ROMs): Iris requires a PlayStation 2 BIOS dump to run commercial software. The emulator provides command-line options to specify a BIOS dump (–bios) and PS2 DVD player/ROM dumps (–rom1, –rom2). Iris and its releases do not include these files; you must obtain them yourself from hardware you legally own. Do not download or use BIOS files from untrusted sources.
Running a downloaded release (recommended for most users): If you downloaded a prebuilt binary from the GitHub Releases page for your OS, extract or install the distribution/package and run the iris executable. Use the GUI (Iris > Open…) to open an ISO, BIN/CUE, CHD, or CSO image, or run from the command line: iris –bios /path/to/bios.bin /path/to/game.iso. Use the CLI flags listed in the README to specify memory cards, direct kernel boot, ELF executables, or other boot options.
Building on Linux: Iris requires CMake and the Vulkan SDK. On Debian/Ubuntu-like systems install the packages listed in the README (build-essential git pkg-config cmake ninja-build and numerous -dev packages such as SDL3, libdrm, libgbm, libegl/libgles). Then: git clone https://github.com/allkern/iris –recursive; cd iris; cmake -S . -B build; cmake –build build -j8. Optionally run cmake –install build to produce an AppImage if you configured FUSE/AppImage tooling as documented.
Building on Windows: The README documents that GCC (MinGW) is the supported compiler on Windows because MSVC lacks the inline assembler used in the project. Example build steps: git clone –recursive, cd iris, cmake -S . -B build -G "MinGW Makefiles", cmake –build build -j8. Install the Vulkan SDK and required development libraries for SDL3 and dependencies before building.
Building on macOS: Follow the repository build steps using CMake: git clone –recursive; cmake -S . -B build; cmake –build build -j8. Installing the Vulkan SDK (MoltenVK) and necessary SDL3 dependencies is required. Optionally run sudo cmake –install build to generate an App Bundle.
Command-line usage and common options: Iris supports GUI and CLI use. Key CLI options from the README: -b/–bios to specify a PS2 BIOS dump, –rom1 and –rom2 for DVD/ROM dumps, -i/–disc to specify a disc image, -x/–executable to load an ELF, –slot1/–slot2 for memory card images. Example: iris –bios /path/to/bios.bin –slot1 /path/to/memcard1.mcr /path/to/game.iso
Performance expectations and required features: The project README and release notes explicitly warn most games will run at very low/unplayable framerates because JIT dynarecs for EE/VU are not yet implemented. Iris provides a Vulkan hardware GS renderer and several optimizations, but expect to use it for testing, debugging, and preservation rather than full-speed play until JITs are added.

Software reminder: Iris does not include PlayStation 2 BIOS/firmware or commercial game files. You must provide legally obtained BIOS dumps, ROMs and disc images. Follow the project's documentation and release notes for the most recent build and runtime options.