PCSX2 2.0 debuts with major improvements over the last stable version of the PlayStation 2 emulator

PCSX2 2.0 has landed, and it brings a good number of improvements. The free and open-source PlayStation 2 emulator can now run over 99% of the PS2 library, with most categorized as "Playable" and 1.23% being "Perfect." So you can enjoy almost all the best-selling games of the console on your gaming computer.

However, the main highlight of PCSX2 2.0 is the performance gains. Over the last stable release, which is PCSX2 1.6, the new version brings updated UI, automatic game fixes, and improved visual and audio support. In some instances, the performance gain can be over 10x that of the last stable release.

For improvements in blending, the emulator can also smoothly run PlayStation 2 games that were previously hard to emulate. The blending uplift brings Fastmem as well, and this doesn't require any manual configuration changes.

Another major highlight of the PCSX2 2.0 is a big picture mode. It allows players to navigate through the PlayStation 2 emulator with a controller, making it easier to play the PS2 games on the big screen (4K VIZIO VQP75C-84 TV curr. $798 on Amazon). It even makes booting games easier.

While all these sound nice, you need to note that the emulator requires a PS2 BIOS to run. If you own the console, getting the BIOS should be easy enough. The developers emphasize the fact that the PCX2 isn't a piracy tool. It's instead a game preservation tool. So, users are expected to only run the emulator with games that they own.