Download Call of Juarez: The Cartel (Windows)

This release was prepared in collaboration with the help of Call of Juarez Community. Fans of the game are still playing the game and make mods for it. If you want to play the game in Cooperative or Multiplayer modes - join Call of Juarez Community on this Discord server

The game with Ready2Play Launcher and The Cartel Overhaul Mod has been tested on Windows 10 and Windows 11, it works fine. The game supports widescreen and ultra-high resolutions up to UltraHD 4K. You may experience some small troubles when you play the game on modern systems, check our Guide and Notes for details

Install & play guide:

• Mount the disc image. You will need the utility for mounting disc image files, like WinCDEmu, UltraISO, Alcohol 52%/Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools Lite. Or extract the files from ISO image with WinRAR, 7-Zip or another archiver tool
• Install the game. It is recommended to install the game not in default path but in some other, non-system folder, like C:/Games/Call of Juarez - The Cartel, so you won't have troubles with NoDVD or fixes
• After you installed the game - use NoDVD, simply copy all files from the archive to the directory with installed game, agree to replace the original files
• Open the directory with the game and find CoJ_TheCartel.exe. Right-click on CoJ_TheCartel.exe -> Properties -> Compatibility - Set "Run this app in compatibility mode with Windows 7" and "Run as administrator"
• Launch the game and play. If the game doesn't work in compatibility mode with Windows 7 - try to launch it in Compatibility mode with other version of Windows (Windows XP, Vista, etc.)

Also, we highly recommend to use Ready2Play Launcher by LuKeStorm to play the game. It is advanced launcher that works with any version of the game (Steam, Uplay) and allows to easily configure the game settings, switch the language of installed game, enable or disable Depth of Field (DOF) and Motion Blur, plus it includes the optional DxWrapper to resolve the compatibility issues with modern systems. To use it simply run the launcher and show the path to the folder with installed game. Ready2Play Launcher by LuKeStorm is compatible with all mods for the game.

Plus, with that launcher you can easily play the game in Cooperative or Multiplayer modes with your friends, check the text-file inside the archive for instructions. To find other players for Cooperative or Multiplayer game, join Call of Juarez Community Discord server; LuKeStorm also publishes the latest updates of his launcher there.

Additionally, we recommend to play the game with The Cartel Overhaul Mod, because the gameplay becomes more interesting with that mod. The Cartel Overhaul Mod fixes many small gameplay issues, such as sluggish movement and weapons models clipping, increases FOV, improves aiming through iron sights, and other small fixes (for full list check Changes.txt inside the archive)

Notes:

• If the installation doesn't start - try to launch Setup.exe in compatibility mode with old version of Windows (98, 2000 or XP)
• It is recommended to install all versions of Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable and NET Framework for the correct work of the game. Also it is recommended to install K-Lite Codec Pack for the correct work of in-game videos
• The game works on DirectX 9, so if you're using Windows 8, 8.1, 10 or 11 - you need to enable DirectPlay: Go to Control Panel, and select 'Programs'. Select 'Turn Windows features on and off', click on 'Legacy Components' and check the box 'DirectPlay'. Select OK, once the installation is done, restart your computer
• NoDVD is required for the launch because the game was working through Uplay, it will try to launch Ubisoft Connect client if you won't use NoDVD. NoDVD on our website is the files from Ready2Play Launcher by LuKeStorm, it includes the modified files thay bypass Uplay/Ubisoft Connect check. We tested that NoDVD on PC with Windows 10, it works totally fine. In case if that NoDVD doesn't work on your system, for some reason, you can download one of old NoDVDs from GameCopyWorld; we didn't upload them because they showed many generic warnings but it should be safe to use, but for 100% safety you can use them on Virtual Machine
• The game has support of 9 languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Czech & Russian. Use Ready2Play Launcher to easily switch the language of the game without re-installation. Some of languages has full audio & video dubbing (that languages have Speech folder in Call of Juarez - The Cartel/MD directory), the other languages has only the text & subtitles translation
• If you feel that there's a microstuttering in the game, change CPU priority: open Task Manager (press Ctrl+Shift+Esc), go to the Details tab, right-click on CoJ_TheCartel.exe process and select "Set Priority" -> select "High", then click "Change Priority"; you have to done it on every launch of the game. The other reason of microstuttering could be the repeated keystrokes while in the game, check this guide to disable them
• In case if the game has performance issues on your system or you notice the graphical glitches - try to use the additional graphics wrappers to run the game, such as DxWrapper, dgVoodoo 2 or DXVK, it should help with compatibility issues
• The game doesn't have Vsync settings, you can enable it in control panel of your video card or with Ready2Play Launcher. Some of graphics wrappers also has the option to enable Vsync in any game
• By default the game has FOV (Field of View) set to 50° vertical, which may feel uncomfortable on big and wide screens. You can change FOV by editing the config-files like in this guide, but changing FOV that affects gun physics; too high FOV will result in a gun kicking downwards and may cause clipping. Instead, better use The Cartel Overhaul Mod, it allows to correctly change FOV without any of that issues
• The game has support of ultrawide screens, but the image is heavily letterboxed in ultrawide screen resolutions, some text in intros, movies and loading screens is cropped; check WSGF page for example screenshots
• If you want to play in Windowed mode, go to Documents/Call of Juarez - The Cartel/out/Settings folder, open Video.scr file in Notepad and delete Fullscreen() line. You can also play the game in Borderless Windowed mode, by using Ready2Play Launcher, simply check "Borderless" box in the launcher; or you can run the game in Windowed mode and use extra tools like Windowed Borderless Gaming utility
• The game has pretty low render distance. If you don't like how it looks, you can use Render Increase mod, to get a bigger render distance to improve the in-game image
• ADS (Aiming Down Sights) sensitivity in the game is lower than hip fire sensitivity. If you don't like that the mouse moves slower when you aim down sights (by default you can aim by pressing Right Mouse Button), you can change ADS sensitivity by editing of config-files, check this guide for instructions
• If you don't like intro videos, you can skip them by deleting or renaming Intro_720p.wmv file in Call of Juarez - The Cartel/MD/Data/Menu/Movies folder. Or use Ready2Play Launcher by LuKeStorm, it automatically disables all intro videos
• There's several unlockable weapons in the game that were available only as pre-order bonuses or Uplay rewards: B99, C75, TMP and scoped PCP. That weapons can be unlocked with small fix of WeaponsUnlock.scr file or with The Cartel Overhaul Mod; check this guide to find the fix and screenshots of unlockable weapons
• The game has the Multiplayer with Versus and Co-op modes. Even though Ubisoft claims online functionalities have been discontinued on November 11, 2017, this only refers to Uplay actions and rewards. Online multiplayer uses the Steamworks API, so it is still playable. The best and easiest method to play the game online is to use Ready2Play Launcher by LuKeStorm: the host needs to forward port 47584 (TCP/UDP) in Internet-connection settings, and players (not the host) must enter the IP-address of the host in the launcher, then start the game and join the match. That works for both Multiplayer and Cooperative game. If you want to find the other online players, join Call of Juarez Community Discord server
• The game has controller support, it should natively work with any XInput-type controllers (Xbox gamepad or similar). If the game doesn't recognize your controller - try to use one of the additional tools from PCGamingWiki guide for controllers
• The installer for Brazilian translation patch showed many generic warnings, here's the scan report. Most of warnings are generic, about suspicious/unsafe file; but for 100% safety better to run that file on Virtual Machine
• Don't forget to check PCGamingWiki if you have troubles, it is very useful! You can also check Steam forums, if you didn't find the solution for your problem