Why PS2 in a browser is different from PS1
A PlayStation 1 can be emulated inside the browser itself. The core is compiled to WebAssembly, your disc image stays on your machine, and RetroDeck PS1 runs it at full speed on an ordinary laptop. The PlayStation 2 is a different animal. Emulating it well, which in practice means PCSX2, needs a fast desktop processor, native code recompilers and a real graphics driver, none of which a browser tab is allowed to have. A WebAssembly PS2 at a playable frame rate does not exist yet.
So RetroDeck Live PS2 turns the problem around. The console runs on a server, inside a sandbox with its own display and sound, and your browser receives the video and sends the controls back over WebRTC. The trade-offs are honest: there is network latency, one room runs at a time, and you still have to bring your own games.
What RetroDeck Live PS2 does
PCSX2 runs on the server and streams to two browsers at once, so a friend can take the second controller from an invitation link and others can watch. Hosting is unlocked with a key sent to your email. If you set a library passphrase, your uploaded disc images and BIOS are kept for next time in a personal library with an eight-gigabyte cap, which is why CHD or CSO images are the right format: they are a fraction of the size of a raw ISO and load faster.
Controls on the keyboard cover the whole DualShock: arrows for the d-pad, Z X A S for the face buttons, I J K L and T F G H for the two analogue sticks, 3 and 4 for L3 and R3. A gamepad gives real analogue sticks, which some games need.
What you need
- A PS2 game you own, dumped from your disc to ISO, CHD or CSO.
- The BIOS from your own console. RetroDeck does not supply one.
- An email address for the hosting key.
- A wired or strong Wi-Fi connection; the video stream is what you are playing.
- A gamepad if you want analogue control, though the keyboard works for most games.
Step by step
- Open RetroDeck Live PS2, generate a hosting key with your email, and unlock hosting.
- Set a library passphrase if you want your uploads kept; skip it for a one-off session.
- Upload or pick a disc image and a BIOS, then start the console.
- Copy the invitation link for Player 2 and send it. Spectators use the room link.
- Check the session counter before inviting friends: one room runs at a time.
Legal and practical notes
RetroDeck Live provides the emulator and the server, not the games. Use dumps of discs you own and the BIOS from a console you own; that is how the service is meant to be used and the only way it is offered. For PS1 titles, RetroDeck PS1 runs entirely on your own machine with no upload at all, and Emulator Hub covers thirty-one older systems the same way; the streamed console is only for the hardware a tab cannot emulate.
Questions
Is there a PS2 emulator that runs fully inside the browser?
Not at a playable speed. PCSX2 needs native code and a real graphics driver, so RetroDeck Live PS2 runs it on a server and streams the picture to your tab.
Can two people play a PS2 game online this way?
Yes. The host starts the console and sends an invitation link; the second browser gets the other controller and the same video.
Where do I get games and the BIOS?
From your own discs and your own console. The service does not provide either.
Does it work on a phone?
The video plays on a phone, but the keyboard layout for the sticks wants a keyboard or a gamepad. A laptop or Chromebook is the better seat.