Just Cause 2 Split Screen V1.0

Local two-player splitscreen for Just Cause 2 (Steam version), on PC and Steam Deck.

Made with AI: all of the code was written by Claude Code, Anthropic's AI coding agent. I directed the project and playtested every feature on PC and Steam Deck.

Player 2 gets their own Rico, their own camera in the bottom half of the screen and their own controls. Explore Panau together or split up: the world loads around each player, even kilometres apart.

Features

• Press Start on a second controller to join at any time, Back + Start to leave
• Player 2 can run, shoot, grapple, parachute, drive, fly, hijack and do stunts
• Separate health, HUD, crosshair and button prompts for each player
• Either player can do races, including Player 2 on their own
• Full screen for menus, the map, cutscenes and race intros
• Markers show where the other player is and how far away
• Player 2 respawns next to Player 1 after dying

Install

Use a fresh save, or one you don't mind messing up.

Windows

1. Download JC2Splitscreen.zip below.
2. In Steam, right-click Just Cause 2 → Properties → Installed Files → Browse.
3. Copy dinput8.dll and jc2ss.ini into that folder, next to JustCause2.exe.

Steam Deck

1. In Desktop Mode, copy dinput8.dll and jc2ss.ini into the game folder (Steam → Just Cause 2 → Properties → Installed Files → Browse).
2. Steam → Just Cause 2 → Properties → General → Launch Options, enter:
   WINEDLLOVERRIDES="dinput8=n,b" %command%

Play

Load your save, wait for the "P2: press Start to join" hint, then press Start on the second controller. Press F8 to show the status bar. F5 refills ammo and F6 swaps the players' places.

See the README for tips, settings, known issues and troubleshooting. Please report bugs in Issues and attach jc2ss.log from the game folder.

To uninstall: delete dinput8.dll and jc2ss.ini from the game folder. On the Deck, also clear the launch option.