Vitox

Vitox is a PlayStation Vita runtime for the Xbox Series X|S (Developer Mode). It packages the Vita3K emulator core as a UWP app with a console-friendly library launcher, so commercial Vita games and homebrew can be installed from a USB drive and played on an Xbox.

Alpha (version 0.2). Vitox is in alpha and will keep getting updates. Not every game runs correctly yet, so expect bugs and games that do not start. If you find a bug, please report it in Issues (game name, title ID and what happened) so it can be fixed. Download the latest build (vitox-0.2.zip) from Releases.

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The launcher

(Video showcase of the app plus a short gameplay of Gravity Rush: https://youtu.be/IHn02udTHqA)

The library shows every installed game with its artwork. Press A to start a game, Menu for per-game options, RB for Settings, and the + tile to install games from a USB drive. In game, press R3 for the Vitox quick menu, and L3 to show a cursor that simulates the Vita's touch screen.

Highlights

• Vita3K core on Xbox UWP: the upstream Vita3K core (CPU via Dynarmic JIT, HLE modules, GXM renderer) runs inside the Xbox app sandbox, with the console's W^X / JIT rules, codeGeneration capability and the 5 GB game memory limit.
• Vulkan on Xbox through Mesa Dozen (Vulkan-on-D3D12): a WindowsStore build of Mesa 26.2.5 dzn, patched for the Xbox GPU (see mesa/). Fixes include 16-bit precision handling, aligned vertex input (vertex repacking in the Vita3K core), depth-surface handling and PSO compatibility.
• Import gating: every Vita system-library function (NID) a game calls is explicitly selected and reviewed (core/core-probe/vitox_import_dispatch.cpp); unselected calls stop the game cleanly instead of running unknown code. Network/ad-hoc features stay disabled (no real network traffic).
• Library launcher (D3D12 + Direct2D): game cards with artwork, per-game options, an in-game quick menu (press R3) and a "Return to Launcher" flow.
• USB installer: the "+" tile installs .zip / .vpk archives from a USB drive: games, updates, DLC and homebrew. NoNpDrm dumps are decrypted during installation (PFS, as upstream Vita3K does).
• Settings: controller remapping and stick dead zones, internal resolution upscaling up to 4K (1x–4x), asynchronous shader compilation and shader pre-warming (with a loading screen), a performance statistics overlay (FPS / memory / CPU), library options (hide homebrew), SteamGridDB artwork (your own API key).
• Per-game settings: resolution, shader options and overlay can be set per title; uninstall with or without save data.
• Saves, trophies, DLC: save data and trophies are stored as on Vita3K; trophy unlocks show a banner (top-left, so it never covers the statistics overlay); DLC is found in ux0:addcont/<TITLE_ID>. DLC and the trophy banner are verified on console.
• Audio through an XAudio2 backend, controllers through Windows.Gaming.Input.
• Touch screen: press L3 in game to show a cursor that simulates touch. Move it with the left stick and press A to tap; press L3 again to hide it.

Tested games

Game	Title ID	Region	Status	Notes
VA-11 HALL-A: Cyberpunk Bartender Action	PCSE00756	US	✅ Playable	Tutorial + chapters, saves, trophies, 30-minute stability run
Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls	PCSE00692	US	✅ Playable	Picture, sound and movies OK; save/load OK
Persona 4: Dancing All Night	PCSE00764	US	✅ Playable	Models, rhythm sync and input timing OK; save/load OK; DLC works
Gravity Rush	PCSA00011	US	✅ Playable	Geometry, lighting and character colours fixed; title screen needs a touch (press L3 for the touch cursor)
Catherine: Full Body	PCSG01179	JP	✅ Playable	Gameplay, menus and text OK; save/load not yet tested
Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight	PCSE01274	US	✅ Playable	Plays without issues
Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight	PCSE01275	US	✅ Playable	Plays without issues
Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA X	PCSE00867	US	✅ Playable	Plays without issues
WipEout 2048	PCSA00015	US	✅ Playable	The Game Mode menu is touch-only: press L3 for the touch cursor and tap a mode (needs 0.2 or later)
Uncharted: Golden Abyss	PCSA00029	US	🟡 In-game	Reaches gameplay; graphical glitches (being fixed)
Killzone: Mercenary	PCSA00107	US	🟡 In-game	Campaign plays without crashing; textures are corrupted (same glitches as upstream Vita3K on PC); slow until shaders are cached

Other games may work too — they simply have not been tested yet. If you run another game with Vitox (working or not), please let me know (open an issue) with the game, its title ID and what you saw, so I can add it to the table.

Installing on Xbox

These steps assume your Xbox Series X|S is already in Developer Mode.

1. Download vitox-0.2.zip (or the newest release) from Releases on your PC and extract it. It contains Vitox_<version>_x64.msix (the app), its certificate (.cer) and Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.appx (a required dependency).
2. On the Xbox, open Dev Home and note the Remote Access address (enable Remote Access in Dev Home settings if needed, and set a username and password).
3. On the PC, open that address in a browser (for example https://192.168.1.50:11443) to open the Xbox Device Portal, and sign in.
4. In Home > My games & apps, choose Add, select the .msix file and press Next. Add Microsoft.VCLibs.x64.14.00.appx as a dependency, then press Start and wait until the installation completes.
5. On the Xbox, find Vitox under Games & apps. Set it to run as a Game (press the Menu button on the tile > View details > App type: Game) so it gets the full game memory.
6. Start Vitox. On first start it asks for the PS Vita firmware (see Firmware); then install your games with the + tile from a USB drive.

To update, install the new .msix the same way; your games, saves and settings are kept.

Firmware

On first start Vitox asks for three PS Vita firmware files. Download them from Sony's servers (right click each link -> "Save link as..."), copy them to a USB drive (any name, any folder), connect it to the console and press A on the setup screen:

Package	Download (official Sony server)
System software 3.74	PSVUPDAT.PUP
Pre-installed package 3.74	PSP2UPDAT.PUP (preinst)
Font package	PSP2UPDAT.PUP (fonts)

Two of these files have the same name, so rename one (for example PREINST.PUP); Vitox recognises each file by its contents. See also the Vita3K Quickstart guide.

Screenshots

Captured on an Xbox Series X console running Vitox.

How it works

Xbox (Dev Mode, UWP app "Vitox")
 ├─ app/      launcher UI, settings, USB installer, presenter, input, audio glue  (C++/WinRT, D3D12, D2D)
 ├─ core/     Vita3K core build for WindowsStore + Vitox launcher core           (CMake, static libs)
 │    ├─ core-build/CMakeLists.txt   builds Vita3K sources; small source substitutions are applied
 │    │                              at build time (the Vita3K checkout itself stays unmodified)
 │    ├─ core-probe/                 session launcher, import dispatch/gating, NoNpDrm, firmware staging
 │    ├─ compat/                     UWP replacements (BCrypt instead of OpenSSL, XAudio2, offline shims, ...)
 │    └─ sdl-shim/                   the few SDL functions Vita3K needs, without SDL
 ├─ mesa/     patch for Mesa 26.2.5 Dozen (Vulkan on D3D12) built for WindowsStore / Xbox
 └─ tools/xbox/  PC-side test harness (Windows Device Portal: deploy, launch, logs, screenshots, backups)

The Vita3K core is used unmodified from upstream commit 7224a0fcc769fea781e4166e5f16a2456552f9f5; every Xbox-specific change is either in this repository's own sources or applied as a checked substitution by core/core-build/CMakeLists.txt (a build fails if the upstream text it expects has changed).

Building (overview)

Requirements: Windows 11, Visual Studio 2026 (C++ UWP workload, Windows SDK), CMake, Python 3, an Xbox in Developer Mode.

1. Clone Vita3K at the commit above (with submodules) next to this repository.
2. Build Mesa 26.2.5 Dozen for WindowsStore with mesa/vitox-uwp-mesa-26.2.5.patch → vulkan_dzn.dll, and take dxil.dll from the Windows SDK redistributables; put both in app/m6a/.
3. Configure and build the core: core/core-build with CMake (x64, Release) → static libraries.
4. Build the app: app/scripts/build.bat (signs the package with your own test certificate; the certificate and its password are not part of this repository).
5. Deploy the .msix through Device Portal (or tools/xbox/VitoxXbox.ps1 prepare -Deploy).

Games, firmware files and licenses are not included. Use your own legally dumped games and the official PS Vita firmware.

Credits

• Vita3K and its contributors: the emulator core this project is built on.
• Dynarmic, Mesa (Dozen), psvpfstools, miniz and the other libraries Vita3K uses.
• SteamGridDB for optional artwork.

Vitox is not affiliated with Sony, Microsoft or the Vita3K team. "PlayStation" and "PS Vita" are trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment.

License

Vita3K is licensed under the GNU GPL v2 (or later); Vitox builds on it and is distributed under the same terms (GPL-2.0-or-later).