Dead Cells Mod Launcher

A one-click installer, updater and launcher for the Dead Cells Multiplayer Mod.

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Download

Open the Releases section on this repository and download the newest launcher build.

For most players the setup is simply:

1. Open Dead Cells Mod Launcher.
2. Let it detect your Dead Cells folder, or choose it manually.
3. Press Install.
4. Press Play.

The launcher handles the multiplayer mod, DCCM setup, updates and the correct launch method automatically.

Important

This is an unofficial community project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Motion Twin, Evil Empire or the Dead Cells rights holders.

Features

One-click installation	Detects Dead Cells and installs the multiplayer mod into the correct DCCM folder.
Automatic DCCM setup	Downloads and installs/repairs the required Dead Cells Core Modding files.
Prerequisite repair	Detects missing .NET 10 Runtime and Microsoft Visual C++ x64 Redistributable and can install the official Microsoft packages automatically.
Diagnostics	Creates a ready-to-send diagnostics text file with game paths, DCCM state, runtimes and recent launcher logs.
Steam multiplayer setup	Prepares the DCCM Steam launch path needed by the mod's Steam hosting/joining features.
Non-Steam support	Uses the direct DCCM path for LAN and direct-IP / port-forwarded sessions.
Build-aware updates	Detects both new version numbers and replaced/re-uploaded builds that keep the same version number.
Manual update fallback	Shows New update available and Update Now if an automatic update has not completed.
Vanilla mode	Disable Co-op Mod restores a normal Dead Cells launch without Core Modding; Enable Co-op Mod switches it back.
DCCM repair	A dedicated Install / Repair DCCM action can repair the core without reinstalling everything manually.
Patch notes	Shows the latest release notes directly inside the launcher.
Desktop shortcut	Creates a shortcut using the correct Steam or standalone launch path.

Steam, LAN and port forwarding

Steam

On a Steam installation, the launcher prepares DCCM's Steam bootstrap path and starts Dead Cells through Steam. This lets the multiplayer mod use the Steam-side hosting and joining functionality when it is available.

LAN / port forwarding

Steam is not required for the launcher itself. Standalone/GOG installations use DCCM's dedicated deadcells-gog.exe startup shell and can use the multiplayer mod's LAN/direct-connect path.

This is useful for:

• computers on the same local network;
• direct IP connections;
• router port forwarding;
• setups where Steam networking is unavailable or intentionally not being used.

Full vanilla mode

You do not need to uninstall the launcher or delete DCCM to play normal Dead Cells.

Press:

Disable Co-op Mod

The launcher parks the multiplayer mod, removes DCCM from the active launch path and starts the real vanilla game executable. On Steam it also restores a verified vanilla game launcher instead of starting Dead Cells with Core Modding.

When you want multiplayer again, press:

Enable Co-op Mod

The launcher restores the mod and DCCM Steam launch setup automatically.

Smart updates

The launcher does not rely only on the visible version number.

For example, both of these will update players:

Installed: 0.4.1
GitHub:    0.4.2
→ normal version update

Installed: 0.4.1
GitHub:    0.4.1
Package:   replaced with a newer 0.4.1 build
→ build update detected

After installation the launcher stores the identity of the exact multiplayer-mod GitHub release asset it installed. A replaced multiplayer package therefore counts as a new build even when modinfo.json and the release tag still say the same version.

When an update is waiting, the launcher shows:

● New update available
Update Now

If automatic updating fails, the warning remains visible so the player can retry manually.

Screenshots

Patch notes panel

Installation layout

The launcher manages the important files for you. A typical co-op installation looks like this:

Dead Cells/
├─ coremod/
│  ├─ core/
│  │  └─ host/
│  │     └─ startup/
│  │        └─ DeadCellsModding.exe
│  ├─ mods/
│  │  └─ DeadCellsMultiplayerMod/
│  └─ launcher/
│     └─ steam/
│        └─ deadcells.exe
├─ deadcells.exe
└─ deadcells.launcher-backup.exe

Players normally do not need to touch these files themselves.

🔐 Release security

Public releases are intentionally simple: players download one self-contained DeadCellsModLauncher.exe. Single-file compression is disabled, and every release also contains a SHA-256 checksum.

A trusted Windows code-signing certificate can be added without changing the source; the GitHub workflow will then Authenticode-sign and verify DeadCellsModLauncher.exe before packaging the release.

Warning

Never tell users to disable Windows Defender or their antivirus. A specific malware detection should be investigated and reported with the exact detection name.

Troubleshooting

The launcher cannot modify the Dead Cells folder

Close Dead Cells and Steam processes that may be using the files. If the game is installed in a protected Windows folder, run the launcher as administrator and try again.

DCCM is missing or damaged

Press Install / Repair DCCM.

A non-Steam game does not start

Press Diagnostics in the DCCM card. The launcher creates a DeadCellsModLauncher-diagnostics-*.txt file on the Desktop containing the selected game path, DCCM launcher state, .NET 10 status, Visual C++ status and recent launcher log. Send that file with the bug report.

The launcher also checks and offers to install DCCM's required .NET 10 Runtime and Microsoft Visual C++ x64 Redistributable before launching.

An update is shown but did not install automatically

Press Update Now. The launcher keeps the update warning visible until the new package has been installed successfully.

Vanilla mode still opens Core Modding

Use the latest launcher build, press Disable Co-op Mod, then launch with Play Vanilla. The current vanilla-mode logic verifies that it is not intentionally starting the DCCM host or DCCM Steam shell.

Steam hosting is unavailable

LAN / direct IP / port forwarding can still be used through DCCM's dedicated GOG/non-Steam startup shell.

Development

The launcher is a Windows WPF application targeting .NET 8. The public release is built as one self-contained Windows executable so players do not need to install .NET or keep a DLL folder.

From the repository root:

dotnet publish src/DeadCellsModLauncher/DeadCellsMultiplayerModInstaller.csproj `
  -c Release `
  -r win-x64 `
  --self-contained true `
  -p:PublishSingleFile=true `
  -p:IncludeNativeLibrariesForSelfExtract=true `
  -p:EnableCompressionInSingleFile=false `
  -o dist/publish

The launcher source is designed around a simple player-facing goal: install once, then press Play.

Credits

• Launcher: Miksy
• Dead Cells Multiplayer Mod: vaiserYT and contributors
• Core modding platform: Dead Cells Core Modding / DCCM contributors

Thanks to everyone testing multiplayer builds, reporting crashes and helping improve synchronization and compatibility.

Community

• Multiplayer Mod: vaiserYT/DeadCellsMultiplayerMod
• Discord: Join the community
• DCCM: dead-cells-core-modding/core

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Install. Update. Play co-op. Switch back to vanilla whenever you want.

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Release builds and security

The included GitHub Actions workflow builds the launcher automatically. A tag such as v1.0.0 publishes:

• DeadCellsModLauncher.exe — the complete self-contained Windows launcher;
• SHA256SUMS.txt — the SHA-256 hash for verifying the launcher executable.

The release build does not use .NET single-file compression. Optional Authenticode signing is already wired into the workflow and activates when the maintainer adds the signing certificate secrets described in SIGNING.md.

See SECURITY.md for download verification and antivirus-warning guidance.