How to play UT2k4 in current year

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If this is inaccurate or outdated, please contact me.

The proper way

If you bought the game on Steam before it was delisted, that will work fine.

If you bought the game on GOG, install it, then request your CD key from GOG support.

If you did not buy the game, you should, it's very cheap second-hand. Here's a US eBay search to get you started.

The improper way

That said, if you want to play right away, follow one of the sets of instructions below. Note that these steps are completely untested, and I cannot provide direct support for them as I personally use my GOG copy and CD key. These steps were adapted from the ones on Omnipotents's forums here.

Windows

1. Download the game here. Epic Games approves of the use of the Internet Archive, at least for Unreal and UT99, so this should be fine.
2. Extract the zip somewhere easy to find. C:\UT2004 works.
3. Generate a CD key here.
4. Where you extracted UT2k4, open add-your-cdkey.reg with Notepad.
5. Look for "CDKey"= and add your generated CD key there. Save.
6. Double-click the .reg file. You'll get a warning about it changing your registry; it'll just add the CD key so that's fine. Click Yes/OK.
7. Double-click System\UT2004.exe and the game will open.

Linux / Steam Deck

1. Get Lutris. On Steam Deck, it's in the Discover Store.
2. Download the game here. Epic Games approves of the use of the Internet Archive, at least for Unreal and UT99, so this should be fine.
3. Create a Wine prefix and extract the game in the virtual C drive somewhere. Once you've done that, add the game manually to Lutris with the Wine runner. Select System/UT2004.exe as the executable, and select your Wine prefix.
4. Generate a CD key here.
5. In Lutris, click UT2k4, then the arrow next to the wine bottle next to Play, then Wine registry.
6. On the left hand side, use the + buttons to navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Unreal Technology\Installed Apps. Click UT2004. Right-click and create a new string value. Name it CDKey. Set the data to the CD key you generated, then click OK and close the registry editor.
7. Run the game through Lutris at least once (this will generate some important configs). If you try to play now you will get intense shader caching stutters, which we will now fix. Close the game.
8. Open System/UT2004.ini in a text editor (eg. Kate). Look for [Engine.Engine]. Under there will be a line that says RenderDevice. Change the value of that to OpenGLDrv.OpenGLRenderDevice. Save. Now you will get good performance.

A unique CD key is not strictly required to play multiplayer but some servers will not let you join without one.

Troubleshooting

The Server Browser doesn't show anything

You need to add OpenSpy to your master server list.

I was kicked from a server because I don't have a CD key

You need to get your CD key.

If you bought the game on Steam, right click the game, then Manage > CD Keys.
If you bought the game on GOG, contact GOG support.
Physical copies should include a CD key.

If you did not buy the game, generate a CD key here. Once you buy the game, switch to your new CD key.

With your CD key in hand, add it to your registry:

• On Windows, press Win-R, type regedit and press enter.
• On Linux, open the Wine registry editor.
• Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Unreal Technology\Installed Apps\UT2004. If you see a key called CDKey, edit that to use your new CD key. Otherwise, create a new string value, name it CDKey, and set it to your new CD key.