PCSX2 v2.8.0 is now out, and it boasts huge performance boosts for your games

Published Aug 30, 2026, 11:35 PM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary PCSX2 v2.8.0 brings major performance boosts, dramatically raising FPS in many PS2 games. Windows build now bundles FFmpeg and common codecs, so no separate codec downloads are needed. Achievements refined, Big Picture can fetch game covers, and the blog shows before/after performance details. It has been quite a while, but the popular PlayStation 2 emulator PCSX2 has received a new update, bringing it up to version 2.8.0. While it contains the regular batch of fixes and tweaks, there are some really nice additions with this new update. The star of the show is a big performance boost, which seems to really squeeze out every last frame out of your PS2 games. PCSX2 v2.8.0 gives PS2 games a huge performance boost It looks like an improvement across the board Credit: PCSX2 Over on the PCSX2 blog, the team breaks down what to expect from the new version of the emulator. The star of the show here is a big performance update that shows some jaw-dropping increases across several games. You can see one of the results above; the top three bars are using the new emulator, while the bottom three are using the old one. Another big winner was Driv3r on a native max blend, which only managed 6FPS before and can now hit a steady 51FPS after. Other than the performance, there have been some nice tweaks to the achievements system, a new feature that lets you download game covers while in Big Picture Mode, and, finally, no more need to download additional codecs: ​​​​​​​FFmpeg is now bundled together with the Windows build of PCSX2. It's no longer necessary for you to download FFmpeg separately before you use the built-in Video Capture! We've also hand-picked the most popular codecs. Previously, we included everything that FFmpeg offered, but this was too much wasted space on codecs that were rarely, if ever, used. The reduced set of codecs should still provide you with all the modern, efficient options you need without taking up much extra space. You can check out all the details on the PCSX2 blog post, which includes all the performance checks, the technical details on each fix, and even some before-and-after screenshots to see how each game has improved visually.