This simple tutorial shows how to install PPSSPP, the PSP Emulator, in your Ubuntu PC and laptop.
PPSSPP is a free and open-source application for running PlayStation Portable (PSP) games on Linux, Windows, MacOS, and mobile devices. With it, you can play your PSP games or free Demos in PC with full HD resolution.
How to Install PPSSPP in Ubuntu
Ubuntu users can install the game emulator in 2 ways: official Flatpak package runs in sandbox, and native .deb package from third party PPA.
Method 1: Install PPSSPP Flatpak package (Official).
PPSSPP offers official package through Flatpak. It’s a containerized package runs in sandbox but works for most Linux. The Flatpak supports both x86 and arm64 CPU architecture types
Linux Mint 21 and Fedora 38 (with 3rd party repository enabled) can install the package directly from either Software Manager and Gnome Software.
For Ubuntu, just press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. Then, run the commands below one by one:
- First, enable Flatpak support by running command:
sudo apt install flatpak
Enable Flatpak support in Ubuntu - Then, run command to install PPSSPP as Flatpak:
flatpak install https://dl.flathub.org/repo/appstream/org.ppsspp.PPSSPP.flatpakref
Once installed, search for and launch the emulator from ‘Activities’ overview. If you don’t see the app icon, try log out and back in.
Method 2: Install PPSSPP via Ubuntu PPA (Native)
For those prefer the native package format, Xu Zhen maintains a 3rd party repository the contains the latest packages. So far, it supports Ubuntu 18.04, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Ubuntu 22.10, and Ubuntu 23.04. And, it supports both x86 and arm64/armhf cpu architecture types.
- First, press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run command to add the Ubuntu PPA.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:xuzhen666/ppsspp
Type user password (no asterisk feedback) when it asks and hit Enter to continue.
- For old Ubuntu 18.04 and Linux Mint, etc, you need to manually refresh system package cache by running command:
sudo apt update
- Finally, run command to install PPSSPP .deb package:
sudo apt install ppsspp
By keeping the PPA repository in your system, user can install future updates of the game emulator using “Software Updater” utility. Though, you have choice to remove it by removing the source line in “Software & Updates -> Other Software” tab.
NOTE: The emulator itself does not contain any game content! User can either dump games from PSP device, or try free demos from Homebrew Store.
Uninstall PPSSPP:
For the emulator installed as Flatpak, open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to remove it:
flatpak uninstall --delete-data org.ppsspp.PPSSPP
Also remove useless runtimes via flatpak uninstall --unused command.
For the package from PPA, use the command below instead to remove it:
sudo apt remove --autoremove ppsspp
Also, open “Software & Updates” and navigate to “Other Software” tab to remove the PPA repository:
