RE-Amped2

RE-Amped2

Amped 2 for Windows, rebuilt from your own disc.

RE-Amped2 brings Amped 2 (Microsoft Game Studios / Indie Built, 2003, for the original Xbox) to Windows as a native PC game. It isn't an emulator. The game's own code is translated to C and compiled into a Windows program, on your PC, from your own disc. It runs at a steady 60 fps, in widescreen, at up to 4K and beyond, with controller and keyboard support.

Early access. RE-Amped2 is a work in progress. The whole game is playable, but expect bugs and rough edges. Reports help a lot; see Reporting problems.

No game files are included or downloaded. You need your own legally owned copy of Amped 2.

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Status

✅ works · 🟡 partly working, or still being checked · ⬜ planned · ➖ not planned

	Feature	Status
Install	One installer that builds the game from your USA or European disc image	✅
	No game files in any download	✅
Gameplay	Career, Free Ride and Tutorials	✅
	Pro challenges, snowskate runs	✅
	Saves	✅
	A full career to the end	🟡 being checked
	Legend challenges (they unlock after the career)	🟡 not tested yet
	Split-screen multiplayer	⬜ hidden for now
	Xbox Live	➖ the service is gone
Graphics	DirectX 11 renderer, steady 60 fps	✅
	Higher resolutions: up to 8× (4K and beyond)	✅
	Anisotropic filtering, optional FXAA	✅
	Widescreen 16:9, with text at its own proportions	✅ (menu pictures are still stretched 🟡)
	Rider shadows	✅
	Texture packs (replacement textures)	✅
	HD texture pack and sharper fonts out of the box	⬜ planned
Sound and video	Sound effects, the soundtrack, rumble	✅
	Intro and in-game movies	✅ (at their original resolution)
	Sharper movies	⬜ planned
Controls	Xbox-style controllers	✅
	Keyboard: two layouts, fully remappable	✅
Comfort	Window or borderless full screen (F11), window size and resolution in the menus, Quit Game in the main menu	✅
Mods	Mod packs, single-file replacements, script mods	✅
	New characters and remixed levels	⬜ planned
Platforms	Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit)	✅
	Xbox Series X|S (Dev Mode)	⬜ planned
	Linux and Steam Deck	⬜ planned
	PlayStation 5 (homebrew)	⬜ being explored

The roadmap, including the console plans, is in PLAN.md.

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Getting started

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, and a graphics card with DirectX 11.
• Your own Amped 2 disc image (.iso or .xiso), made from your own disc. The USA and the European/Australian releases both work.
• About 6 GB of free space for the game. If the free build tools are missing (see below), they need up to 7 GB more on drive C:.
• An internet connection during the install, for the build tools.

Install

1. Download RE-Amped2-Setup.exe from the Releases page (the newest release is at the top).
2. Run it. The installer isn't code-signed yet, so Windows may show a SmartScreen warning ("Windows protected your PC"). If you want to check the file first, compare its SHA-256 with the one on the release page. Then choose More info → Run anyway.
3. Disc: pick your disc image, or drag it onto the window.
4. Location: choose a folder you own (for example C:\Games\RE-Amped2) and the options: a desktop shortcut, the RE-Amped2 menus, and the RE-Amped2 look.
5. Build tools: the game is compiled on your PC, which takes Microsoft's free C++ Build Tools and Python (plus Java, only for the RE-Amped2 menus). If any are missing, the installer lists each one with its licence terms and installs nothing unless you agree.
6. Wait. Installing takes about 10 to 35 minutes, depending on your PC and on which tools it has to fetch. Most of it is compiling.
7. Play with the desktop shortcut or RE-Amped2.exe in the install folder.

Updating: run a newer installer and pick the same folder. Your saves and settings are kept.

Uninstalling: back up your saves (game\UDATA in the install folder), then delete the folder. The build tools are normal programs you can remove in Settings › Apps if you don't need them.

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Playing

Controller: an Xbox-style controller works out of the box, with rumble.

Keyboard (KeyboardPreset in amped2.ini; a controller works alongside either):

Action	default	wasd
Steer (left stick)	number pad	W A S D
D-pad	arrow keys	number pad
A / B / X / Y	Z / X / A / S	Space / J / K / L
White / Black	Q / E	U / O
Left / right trigger	1 / 3	Q / E
Right stick	I J K L	arrow keys
Start	Enter	Enter or Esc
Back	Backspace	Backspace or Tab

Keys: F11 or Alt+Enter switches between a window and full screen. F3 shows the frame rate and the active mods.

Saves are in game\UDATA in the install folder.

Settings

With the RE-Amped2 menus, Options and Mods › Game Options has Window and Resolution, and Options and Mods › Mods turns mod packs and texture packs on or off.

Every setting is in amped2.ini, next to RE-Amped2.exe. The game writes it the first time it starts, with each line commented out. Remove the ; in front of a line to use it, then restart.

Section	Setting	Values
[Display]	WindowSize	1280x960, 1920x1080, …
	WindowMode	windowed or borderless
	RenderScale	1 to 8, or 720p, 1080p, 1440p, 4k
	VideoModes	which of 480p, 720p, 1080i, widescreen the game may use, or none
	Anisotropic	1 (off) to 16 (default)
	FXAA	1 on, 0 off (default)
	TextAspect	1 (default) draws text at its own proportions in 16:9
[Input]	KeyboardPreset	default or wasd
	KeyMap	your own key bindings, e.g. A=SPACE|Z,START=RETURN
	DeadZone	0 to 0.9
	Rumble	1 or 0
[Audio]	Volume	0 to 100
[Game]	PlayMovies	1 (default), 0 skips the intro movies
	Mods	1 (default), 0 plays the original game data
	ModPacks, TexturePack	1 (default) or 0

Mods and texture packs

Mods live in the install folder's mods folder and never touch your game files. mods\mods.json lists the packs to use, and each pack is a folder in mods\packs\. The RE-Amped2 look (logo, splash and loading screen) is one of them, re-amped2. To make your own, see the modding sections of the developer guide.

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Reporting problems

Open an issue and include:

• what you were doing, what happened, and how often;
• amped2.log from the install folder. The game rewrites it on every start, so copy it before starting again;
• for install problems, install.log, and the step that failed;
• your disc (USA or Europe), Windows version, graphics card, and whether you play with a controller or the keyboard.

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FAQ

Is this an emulator? No. The game's code is translated into C once and compiled into a normal Windows program, which is why it runs so well.

Why does the installer compile the game? So that none of the game is ever distributed. The translation happens on your PC, from your own disc, and the result stays there.

Can I get the game files here? No. You need your own copy of Amped 2.

Which disc works? The USA and the European/Australian releases.

Online play? No. Xbox Live for the original Xbox shut down long ago.

Steam Deck, Linux, Xbox, PlayStation? Planned or being explored; see PLAN.md, Part C.

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For developers

• Developer guide: the recompilation pipeline, building from source, the installer, and the bring-up notes.
• Nico-D-eu/xboxrecomp, branch amped2-fixes: the toolkit fork with RE-Amped2's changes. The build expects it in a sibling folder, ../xboxrecomp.
• CONTRIBUTING.md: how to help. The one rule is never to submit game files or anything made from them.
• AGENTS.md: rules for AI coding agents.

Credits

• Amped 2 was made by Indie Built and published by Microsoft Game Studios.
• xboxrecomp by sp00nznet and its contributors is the toolkit RE-Amped2 is built on. Its audio core comes from xemu.
• xdvdfs extracts the disc image. unluac decompiles the menu scripts for the RE-Amped2 menus. Capstone disassembles the game's code.

Legal

• RE-Amped2 is an unofficial, free fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft. Amped, Amped 2 and Xbox are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Amped 2 © Microsoft Corporation.
• No game code or data is in this repository or in its releases. The installer builds the game on the player's PC, from the player's own disc.
• This project's own code is under the MIT licence (LICENSE). Third-party components and their licences are listed in NOTICE.md.
• RE-Amped2's art was created under Microsoft's "Game Content Usage Rules" using assets from Amped 2, and it is not endorsed by or affiliated with Microsoft.