Emulation General Wiki

PCSX2

Revision as of 12:41, 10 June 2026 by Ahayri (talk | contribs) (→Gamepad)
PCSX2
Developer(s) PCSX2 Team
Latest version 2.8.2 [+]
Active Yes
Platform(s) Windows
Linux
macOS
Emulates PlayStation 2
PlayStation (Backwards Compatibility)
Compatibility Compatibility list
Website PCSX2.net
Support ($) GitHub Sponsor
Liberapay
Ko-fi (F0bes)
Programmed in C++
License GPLv3 (current)
former licenses: LGPLv3 (0.9.7-2.1.45), GPLv2 (until 0.9.6)
Source code GitHub
Issue tracker GitHub
BIOS/Keys Required

PCSX2 is an open-source PlayStation 2 emulator for Windows and Linux. Since 2016, it has also supported the PlayStation 2's backward compatibility mode for PlayStation games.[1]

Download

      Stable and nightly builds
  AetherSX2 Port

System requirements

Main article: Computer specifications#PCSX2
Compatibility with obsolete hardware and OSes
Main article: Emulators on legacy Microsoft products
Main article: Emulators on Legacy systems

Windows XP and Direct3D9 support was dropped after stable release 1.4.0. Windows 7, Windows 8.0, and Windows 8.1 and 32-bit support was dropped after stable release 1.6.0. Despite these are not being officially supported, you can use supported newer nightly builds compared to those stable builds. For example: PCSX2 v1.7.3581 can work on Windows 7 with a few workarounds, you'll need:

For starters, extract PCSX2 in a folder and then extract the 64-bit dxvk: d3d11.dll and dxgi.dll OR extract Reshade.exe: and rename "reshade64.dll" to "dxgi.dll" and then move this file next to the main PCSX2 executable. You'll also need to select Cubeb as the audio renderer. Otherwise, it'll crash with XAudio. And lastly, always pick between Vulkan, OpenGL and Software. D3D11/D3D12 can crash occasionally, and it won't function as intended anyways. Don't expect any official support if you post logs showing you're using Windows XP, 7, 8, or 8.1.

  • For Windows XP, use this build. You don't need workaround for this build. Note that this build does not include the Direct3D9 renderer (or any DirectX rendering). If you want to use the old D3D9 renderer, you will need to use the official build 1.4.0 which is the last to officially support Windows XP.
  • Latest wxWidgets build (but its not compatible with Win7, 8 and 8.1 workaround because of fast memory implementation): v1.7.3771.
  • Latest 32-bit supported build: v1.7.2484
  • Latest SSE2 supported build: v1.7.1178
  • Get older builds (including 1.5-dev builds) from here.

Setup

Gamepad

See pcsx2 docs: configuration/controllers page.

Pressure-sensitive buttons
Main article: PlayStation 2 emulators#Pressure-sensitive inputs
wxWidgets build guide

Native DS3 controls with LilyPad-SCP - Import this with the 'Load Bindings' button in LilyPad's config. Either that, or you can use the Pokopom XInput Plugin. If you use a DualShock controller running under an XInput wrapper such as SCP Server, then this plugin is a no-brainer. It's very customizable, and you don't have to configure it beforehand. All of the buttons are bound at startup.

Video

Most of the video options should be straightforward (recommended to use default options), with the possible exception of interlacing modes. Many games will run fine with 'Auto' option, while others may experience artifacting or jitter. See Deinterlacing page for more information.

Overview

PCSX2 was originally created in 2001 by Linuzappz and Shadow as the successor to PCSX, another PlayStation emulator. Development of PCSX ceased on September 17, 2003, to focus on PCSX2. When version 0.9.8 was released in May 2011, only 55% of the PS2's library was considered supported.[2]

A significant number of quality-of-life changes have come about since the project moved to GitHub, with a renewed interest in bringing it up to par with emulators for similar-gen consoles. Until mid-2021, PCSX2 was a holdout of the plugin system, despite development of each plugin eventually consolidating into the main repository. The plugin API was removed entirely in PR 4436 and the latest stable releases no longer have it. Compatibility has also seen major improvements across the board, to the point where every game at least boots. As of January 2022, 98% of the PlayStation 2 library is considered playable, although only 26 games are marked as perfect.

A pull request adding x86_64 support was opened on June 7, 2020, and both 32-bit and 64-bit builds for Windows, macOS, and Linux were first made available on July 4.[3] The plan is to reduce so-called "technical debt", including game-specific hacks that cause accuracy issues and bugs in the 32-bit builds, as well as broaden support for more platforms and devices such as ARM64 chips.

A pull request removing x86 support was opened on December 9, 2021, and the last 32-bit build and first 64-bit-only build were made available on March 19, 2022.

PCSX2 is also able to run some PS1 games by emulating the original hardware's built-in backward compatibility. Unfortunately, it was largely added as a proof-of-concept and is only really useful for novelty purposes (see PlayStation 2 emulators#PlayStation Backwards Compatibility section for more information); PCSX2's PS1 support is rather inaccurate even compared to a real PS2 (which also has some major flaws in its backwards compatibility), so a more straightforward PS1 emulator is still worth having on hand.

Issues

Main article: PlayStation 2 emulators#Emulation issues

Special hardware

Lightgun support

Lightgun support was available in the PCSX2 emulator via a third-party plugin called nuvee.[4] This is no longer relevant since the removal of the plugin system, now PCSX2 handles lightgun support by itself.

Multiplayer on PCSX2

See PlayStation 2 emulators#Hardware features and peripherals section -> LAN or Network Adapter sections, also you can use LAN tunelling for offline multiplayer play.

References

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