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Split-screen on PC

The Long Dark

Up to 32 players on one PC, with controllers, keyboard and mouse or several keyboards and mice.

32Verified handler

Handler “Sky Co-op” by birden, version 2

What works

With Nucleus Co-op, up to 32 players can play The Long Dark 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 “Sky Co-op” by birden does the setup and was checked by hub moderators: version 2, updated . The Long Dark is a shooter, simulation and strategy game from 2017.

  • Players32
  • ControllersSupported
  • Keyboard and mouseSupported
  • Several keyboards and miceOne per player
  • Hub moderatorsVerified

How to play The Long Dark split screen on PC

  1. 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

  2. Install the The Long Dark handler

    In Nucleus Co-op, search the Hub for The Long Dark and install its handler, or download the handler file from this page and drop it on the Nucleus window. Then show Nucleus where The Long Dark is installed.

    Download the handler file (.nc)

  3. 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.

  4. Launch and connect

    Press Launch: Nucleus opens one copy of The Long Dark 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

  • The Long Dark 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 32 copies

    Each player runs their own copy of The Long Dark, 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

This handler is made for the Steam version only.

Supports multiple mouse and keyboard and controllers.

You will need to downgrade your game so that it works with the multiplayer mod, right click your game in Steam, go into properties > betas and where it asks for a code put the one in this site: https://www.thelongdark.com/time-capsule/perilous-constraint/ (the branch password).

Now use this installer (https://github.com/RED1cat/SkyCoopInstaller/releases/tag/v2.0) to add multiplayer with Sky Co-op.

About The Long Dark

Welcome to The Long Dark, the innovative exploration-survival experience Wired magazine calls "the pinnacle of an entire genre". The game is a thoughtful, exploration-survival experience that challenges solo players to think for themselves as they explore an expansive frozen wilderness in the aftermath of a geomagnetic disaster. There are no zombies but only you, the cold, and all the threats Mother Nature can muster.

Summary from IGDB

The Long Dark screenshots

  • The Long Dark screenshot 1
  • The Long Dark screenshot 2
  • The Long Dark screenshot 3
  • The Long Dark screenshot 4
  • The Long Dark screenshot 5
  • The Long Dark screenshot 6
  • The Long Dark screenshot 7

Version history

  1. v2Current

    small improvement

    VerifiedDownload (2.4 KB)
  2. v1

    release

    VerifiedDownload (246 KB)

Version details, files and scripts

Comments 1

  • overflowyouknow

    This handler works great on everything besides when you close both instances of the game and then start it up again, one player is always going to lose all their stuff (both players end up with exactly the same stats, inventory, etc.). I'm assuming this is because when played locally there aren't two copies of the modded files being saved only one so when the game gets closed then reopened and the second player joins it's using the data from whoever saved last. Just a theory but if there's a way to fix this please do. It happens every time.

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