The short version
- A public PS5 jailbreak called Relapse works on firmware 7.00 to 13.60, on both the regular PS5 and PS5 Pro.
- Sony answered with firmware 14.00 (September 16) and 14.10 (October 1). Since October 15, older consoles have been reported as unable to sign in to PSN without 14.10.
- GTA 6 reportedly needs 14.10 to boot when it launches on November 19. Neither Rockstar nor Sony has confirmed this.
- On October 19, a developer called Gezine showed kernel access on 14.10. It's private, can't dump games, and Gezine says it won't be released.
How we got here
PS5 hacking has moved fast this year. Relapse went public on September 29. It starts with a bug in the console's web browser, then uses a kernel flaw to get full read and write access to memory. The kernel is the core of the system software, the part meant to be off limits. Our jailbreak explainer covers the layers in plain English.
It's tethered, though. You have to run it again after every restart, and the kernel step can crash the console.
Sony's fixes came in two steps. Firmware 14.00 patched the kernel bug used on 13.xx and broke Byepervisor Reborn, a popular hypervisor bypass. The hypervisor is a security layer that sits above the kernel and guards things like the keys used to decrypt games. Then 14.10 arrived with more security fixes that Sony didn't describe.
Image: Sony Interactive Entertainment
The 14.10 squeeze
The forcing move came on October 15. GBAtemp and Notebookcheck reported that PS5s on older firmware can no longer sign in to PlayStation Network unless they install 14.10. You can still put the update off, but then the console is limited to offline play: no online multiplayer, no PS Plus game downloads and no store.
GTA 6 is the other pressure point. In early October, the dataminer PlayStation Game Size said the game's PS Store backend lists 14.10.00 or newer as a requirement. If that's right, an older jailbroken console can't run the biggest game of the year. On paper, it's the strongest reason Sony has ever given PS5 owners to update.
Image: Zerocade
And then 14.10 cracked anyway
On October 19, Gezine posted a short video captioned "Hello 14.10", showing kernel and debug-level access on the new firmware, including debug menus that regular users never see.
Image: Zerocade
There are real limits. Tbreak reports that the older method for dumping game files no longer works on 14.xx firmware, and Gezine has said a new hypervisor bypass would be needed. Instant-Gaming adds that save files can't be created. The exploit is private, with no release planned.
So 14.10 isn't jailbroken in any way that helps piracy today. But it held for less than three weeks before someone got into the kernel. That doesn't look good for Sony's plan to keep GTA 6 locked down, and it's a reminder of how quickly hacking has moved this year.
What it means for GTA 6
Rockstar's game is the biggest launch of the generation, and reports say it's a 210GB download on PS5 with preloading from November 12. Piracy on day one would need a public hypervisor bypass plus a way to decrypt and dump the game, none of which exists for 14.10 yet. Sony will also almost certainly ship another update before or around launch.
For legitimate players, the practical effect is simpler: your PS5 will need 14.10 or later, and plenty of free storage.
What you should do
If you just play normally:
- Install 14.10 now. It's needed for PSN anyway, and reportedly for GTA 6.
- Clear space. On a launch PS5 with 667GB usable, a 210GB game is nearly a third of the drive. An M.2 SSD upgrade is the fix if you're short.
- Expect another update soon after November 19, as Sony usually patches around big launches.
If you're running a jailbreak on older firmware, you're choosing between your exploit and online play, and the GTA 6 requirement makes that choice harder. Sony hasn't commented on any of this.
