Split-screen on PC

Battlefield 2

Up to 4 players on one PC, with controllers, keyboard and mouse or several keyboards and mice.

4Verified handler

Handler “Battlefield 2” by Perserveruz, version 3

What works

With Nucleus Co-op, up to 4 players can play Battlefield 2 together on one PC, each in their own part of the screen, with controllers, keyboard and mouse or several keyboards and mice. The free community handler “Battlefield 2” by Perserveruz does the setup and was checked by hub moderators: version 3, updated 28 Jul 2025. Battlefield 2 is a shooter game from 2005.

Players4
ControllersSupported
Keyboard and mouseSupported
Several keyboards and miceOne per player
Hub moderatorsVerified

How to play Battlefield 2 split screen on PC

Get Nucleus Co-op
Download Nucleus Co-op, free for Windows 10 and 11, and unzip it into its own folder, for example C:\NucleusCo-op. There is no installer.
Keep it out of Program Files, your user folder and OneDrive.
Download Nucleus Co-op
Install the Battlefield 2 handler
In Nucleus Co-op, search the Hub for Battlefield 2 and install its handler, or download the handler file from this page and drop it on the Nucleus window. Then show Nucleus where Battlefield 2 is installed.
Download the handler file (.nc)
Take a seat
Each player presses a button on their own controller to join and takes a spot on the screen. Pick a layout that fits your players.
Playing with several keyboards and mice? Press End once everything is in place to give each window its own cursor.
Launch and connect
Press Launch: Nucleus opens one copy of Battlefield 2 per player and lays the windows out on your screen. Then link them in game, usually one player hosts a LAN or online session and the others join it. The handler notes say how.

What you need

A Windows 10 or 11 PC
Nucleus Co-op runs on Windows only. System requirements
Battlefield 2 for Windows
Installed on that PC. Nucleus starts every player's window from that one install.
Nucleus Co-op, free
With .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later and the Visual C++ 2015–2022 runtimes (x86 and x64). Download
Something to play with
One controller per player, or one keyboard and mouse per player. Controllers · Keyboards and mice
A PC that can run 4 copies
Each player runs their own copy of Battlefield 2, so the PC carries several times the usual load. Lower the graphics settings if it struggles. Performance tips
A multiplayer mode
Nucleus links the windows through the game's own LAN or online mode; the handler takes care of it.

Handler notes

Supports up to 4 gamepads as well as multiple mice/keyboards.

Requires VC++ Redistributable 2019, Dot Net Framework 4.0 or above and DirectX.

N.B. Apps that emulate mice/keyboards or virtual controllers such as controlmyjoystick can interfere with the dinput to xinput translation.

You can find the latest standalone version of Battlefield 2 at https://mega.nz/file/mbxARDhT#Bn4d_N7vq3Wq95hk7pFMy6xvpm52cJmJWFSrR34U8OI and the mod to play coop on 64 player maps at https://www.mediafire.com/file/9p9gyyyrlhs9pob/bf2all64coop.part1.rar/file and https://www.mediafire.com/file/l05fey38kfg9ybj/bf2all64coop.part2.rar/file. You will need to extract the bf2all64 folder to the mods folder, located under the Battlefield 2 main game folder. The password to extract the rar files is 1234.

For Ctrl+Q to work you may need to first Ctrl+Tab to the Nucleus app window first. Prior to launching your instances, under the handler's options in Nucleus, select the number of human players and change any other video/server settings based on your preferences.

Only when using gamepads there is no need to lock input, instead when using mouse/keyboard you will need to lock input by pressing the END key, preferably at the map screen. You may need to press the END key a couple of times to lock input effectively.

Once your instances have finished resizing and repositioning, proceed to have the first player create a local match under multiplayer, make sure to select Co-op under game mode or no bots will be loaded.

Once the match has loaded have the other players connect by searching for the local server under multiplayer/join local.

If you wish to change the draw distance value, you will need to add your preferred draw distance value in the cmd pop up window (only once the Login screen has loaded), wait until all maps have been updated and for the 'Press any key to continue' line to appear - this needs to be repeated for each instance. I've found that setting a value of 1000 works fine on a mid-range PC and looks quite nice, while 2000 looks amazing but can drastically affect performance and cause crashes on lower end PCs.

Massive credit goes to messenils for fixing multiple mice/keyboard inputs - this is actually what was preventing this release. Also, major props to Josivan88 for all the testing and to PoundlandBacon for his extensive contributions to the handler, including the draw distance mod.

About Battlefield 2

In Battlefield 2, players will choose to fight for one of three military superpowers: the United States, the Chinese, or the newly formed Middle East Coalition. Armed with the latest modern weaponry, players can take control of any of the game’s 30+ vehicles to engage in major conflicts with over 64 players in some of the largest online battles on the PC. Additionally, persistent character growth allows players to rise through the ranks and attain the ultimate rank of General.

Summary from IGDB

Battlefield 2 screenshots

Version history

v3Current
added draw distance mod, high resolution text, widescreen fix and updated links to bf2all64 coop mod
28 Jul 2025VerifiedDownload (5.4 MB)
v2
Fixed bot ratio
24 Jul 2025VerifiedDownload (3.6 MB)
v1
Battlefield 2 handler
24 Jul 2025VerifiedDownload (3.6 MB)