The PS3 modding scene just made history. After months of development, BadWDSD, a hardware mod that unlocks custom firmware on Super Slim models, is now fully operational, bringing performance levels that were literally impossible until now. And Sony can’t do anything to stop it.
Polish modder Modyfikator89 announced on January 21, that his PS3 Super Slim is running full qCFW with BadWDSD, likely making it one of the first fully operational units globally.
The results are ridiculous: a massive 850MHz overclock on the RSX graphics chip while keeping temps under 55°C. For context, the stock RSX runs at 500MHz, so we’re looking at a 70% jump in clock speed without the console melting into a puddle of plastic.
🚨 HISTORY IN THE MAKING for the #PS3 Scene! 🚨
Thanks to the incredible work of the development team, the “impossible” is now reality 🤯
Full working qCFW (BadWDSD) using a Raspberry Pi Pico! 🟢🛠️
This is the ONLY solution that unlocks full qCFW capabilities on these models, and… pic.twitter.com/uRHJWsLaKB— modyfikatorcasper (@Modyfikator89) January 21, 2026
How a $4 Raspberry Pi Pico makes it all work
The magic behind BadWDSD comes from an unexpected hero: the Raspberry Pi Pico, that tiny microcontroller board you can grab for like four bucks.
The modchip works by exploiting the XDR RAM’s serial debug interface, injecting code directly into memory during boot.
Since this is a hardware-level RAM injection happening through the Pico, Sony can’t kill it with a system update. The company stopped making PS3s years ago anyway, so this exploit is here to stay.
Developer aomsin2526, also known as kafuu, led the charge on this project throughout 2025. The mod enables quasi-custom firmware, or qCFW, on PS3 Slim 3000 and Super Slim models with NOR memory.
It’s not full CFW in the traditional sense since it doesn’t permanently modify the flash memory, but functionally it gets you almost everything CFW offers.
Goodbye HEN, hello full power
As Modyfikator89 explained in his January 21 announcement, BadWDSD unlocks capabilities that PS3HEN simply cannot match. The fully restored Linux (OtherOS) feature is back, letting you run a full Linux operating system on your Super Slim.
RSX overclocking delivers real hardware performance boosts that eliminate lag in demanding games.
Native PS2 ISO support means you can play PS2 games directly without conversion. The mod also allows firmware downgrading, unbricks consoles stuck in factory mode, and provides full lv1 hypervisor access at boot.
The qCFW implementation is based on Evilnat’s custom firmware, meaning it supports both CEX and DEX features. Installation requires soldering the Pico to specific points on the motherboard, this isn’t a simple USB plug-and-play situation. But once it’s done properly, the success rate is basically 100%, with the console booting to the XMB menu in about 30 seconds.
Developers have successfully downgraded consoles from firmware 4.91 down to 4.40, opening the door to features and capabilities that newer firmware locked away. This is genuine custom firmware functionality on models that were supposed to be locked down forever.
The PS3 modding community keeps finding ways to push these old consoles beyond what anyone thought possible, and BadWDSD proves that even hardware Sony designed to be unbreakable can still get cracked wide open with enough dedication and ingenuity.
What was once impossible, is now reality.
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