PS5 Linux lead quits: "a bunch of noobs using LLMs" that "they don't understand"

Andy 'TheFlow0' Nguyen, the hacker who created the first kernel exploit for the PlayStation Vita and has spent over a decade building exploits and homebrew for PlayStation hardware, has announced he is stepping away from the PS5 scene and ending his work on PS5 Linux. The project, which he helped lead, brought a full Linux OS experience to Sony's console — effectively turning every PS5 into a Steam Machine capable of dual-booting and running whatever players wanted. He said the decision scraps months of work, including plans to finish PS5 Pro support and ship a release in 2027: "After pouring my heart and months of my life into it... it's all down the sink."

Nguyen's stated reason is the rise of AI "vibe-coders" in open-source and homebrew spaces. In his words, "the scene used to be a group of highly talented researchers, but now it is just a bunch of noobs using LLMs and writing hacks they don't even understand." He is not the first to make this call — the PlayStation 3 emulator RPCS3 recently banned vibe-coding participants for submitting code they didn't actually understand.

The situation escalated beyond code quality. Nguyen says the vibe-coders he dubbed "slop kiddies" used AI to find a bug they were exploiting to crack consoles and reported it to Sony for a bounty. According to Nguyen, they found "the only hypervisor bug left, which I had also found a while ago," and reported it despite agreeing to wait. He had asked them to hold off at least until GTA 6 launched so people could legally purchase the game and still enjoy Linux, and they agreed — "but not a day passed and they decided to waste it instead."

The consequence is that PS5 Linux progress on newer OS versions may be permanently lost, since the reported bug leaves no remaining hypervisor avenue. The last version helmed by Nguyen is the currently available Version 2.5, which supports PS5 Phat and Slim consoles running firmware 3.00–7.61.