Running two Desktop Mate characters at once

The official route: Multi-Character Mode (β)

infiniteloop announced the beta on 28 January 2026 to coincide with the Kagamine Rin and Kagamine Len DLC releases. The announcement is explicit that this was originally planned as a standard feature and was moved to an open beta so the implementation could be reviewed further before general release.

The beta also carries “Combo Action”, an interaction between two characters, which stays in the beta branch until it is promoted to the standard version.

Because it is a Steam branch rather than a mod, nothing about your installation is modified by hand. Steam downloads a different build, and switching back is a menu choice.

How to enable it

1. Open the Steam client and find Desktop Mate in your library.
2. Right-click it and choose Properties.
3. Open the Game Versions & Betas section.
4. In the Selected Game Version field, choose multi_character.
5. Wait for Steam to download the beta build, then press Play.

To go back, return to the same field and select Default public version. Steam will restore the standard build.

What the beta does and does not do

• Two characters maximum on screen at once while the beta is running. The publisher has stated an intention to expand this in the full version, but has not committed to a number.
• You cannot run the standard version at the same time. Opting into the beta replaces your installed build; it is one or the other.
• The branch is time-limited. Once the feature is stable and released normally, the multi_character option is removed and the standard version is reinstalled automatically.
• Your purchases carry over unchanged. Every character DLC you own works the same way in either build.
• You still need two characters to show two characters. Multi-Character Mode does not grant DLC; it only lets characters you already own appear together.

Because it is a beta, treat it as one. If something misbehaves, the publisher opened a feedback thread in the Desktop Mate Steam discussions, which is a more useful destination than a mod forum for a first-party feature.

Why the old duplication trick is not worth it

The workaround that spread before the official beta was to copy the entire Desktop Mate folder, rename it, and replace the Steam API library inside the copy with one from a Steam emulator so the duplicate would launch without checking in with Steam. It works, in the narrow sense that two windows open. It is still a bad trade, and we do not document the steps here.

What you give up: the duplicated copy no longer receives updates, so it drifts out of sync with the real installation and with any DLC you own. Replacing the Steam API library is a DRM circumvention, which puts you outside both the Steam Subscriber Agreement and the publisher's terms. The replacement library itself comes from a third party and runs with the same privileges as the app. And any character DLC in the duplicated copy is being loaded outside the entitlement check that normally governs it.

All of that was a somewhat defensible risk when there was no alternative. There is now an official one, published by the developer, that takes about thirty seconds to enable. Use that instead.

Performance considerations

Two animated 3D characters cost roughly twice as much as one. Desktop Mate's published minimum is 8 GB of RAM with a recommended 16 GB, and those figures were set for the single-character app. On a laptop running on battery, or on a machine near the minimum specification, expect the second character to be noticeable — in frame pacing, in fan noise, and in battery life.

If you are testing the beta on modest hardware, add the second character only after confirming the first one behaves normally, and watch memory use in Task Manager for a few minutes before deciding the setup is stable.

Running two Desktop Mate characters at once FAQ

Sources and verification

• infiniteloop: Open Beta Announcement, Multi-Character Mode (β) ↗
• Desktop Mate on Steam (App ID 3301060) ↗
• Desktop Mate Steam discussions ↗

Checked against the sources above on 2026-09-01. Desktop Mate, its DLC line-up, and community tooling all change; recheck the originals before acting on anything time-sensitive here.