Play!

Play! is an open source PlayStation 2 emulator developed mainly by Jean-Philip Desjardins. Its main difference from other PS2 emulators is that it recreates the PS2’s BIOS itself (high-level emulation), so you don’t need a BIOS file from a real console to use it.

Play! is built to be portable. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS, and there is even a version that runs in a web browser.

Compatibility is lower than PCSX2’s, but a growing number of games are playable, and Play! is often the easiest way to try PS2 games on phones and tablets.

Which download to pick

All the buttons are the same Stable release, built for different systems.

• Windows (64-bit) suits any current Windows PC; the 32-bit build is only for old 32-bit Windows installs. Both need Microsoft’s latest Visual C++ redistributable.
• Linux is an AppImage: make it executable and run it.
• Mac OS X is a disk image for macOS.
• Android is an APK.
• iPhone is an IPA, which has to be sideloaded. Play! relies on JIT code generation, which iOS blocks by default: the developers say games crash on launch unless JIT is enabled, for example through AltServer or a jailbroken device.

System requirements

The developers do not publish minimum specifications. PS2 emulation is demanding, so a fast CPU helps most, and on phones and tablets performance varies a lot between devices.

Getting started

No BIOS is needed. Play! uses its own built-in BIOS and cannot load one from a real console. Games must be dumped from your own discs. On desktop, start one with File > Boot Disc Image; Play! reads ISO, CSO, CHD, ISZ, MDS and CUE images.

Controllers are mapped with Options > Controller Manager. Under Options > Settings you can choose the graphics backend (Vulkan or OpenGL) and raise the internal resolution from 1x up to 16x.

If a game does not run, check the Play! compatibility tracker on GitHub. For wider game support on a PC, PCSX2 is the more compatible option.