The short answer is – yes, you can play Just Cause 3 multiplayer completely free on PC thanks to an incredible fan-made mod!
While the base Just Cause 3 game from Square Enix does not include any native multiplayer support, a team of dedicated modders has created a must-have mod called JC3:MP that unlocks multiplayer functionality on PC.
And the best part? JC3:MP is 100% free – just download and install the mod files and you can start playing Just Cause 3 online with up to 1000 other chaos-loving players!
As a huge Just Cause fan ever since the grappling hook first launched Rico into my heart in 2006, I‘ve put in countless hilarious hours of wingsuiting, stunting, and blowing up Medici with fellow players.
So strap in, amigo – I‘m going to share everything you need to know about the magical world of Just Cause 3 multiplayer!
A Passionate Modding Community Banded Together
It still pains me that Just Cause 3 launched in 2015 without any official multiplayer features. Roaming the huge open world of Medici alone felt like a crime!
Thankfully, a group of talented and dedicated PC modders took matters into their own hands.
Led by community veterans Nanos and Moratus, dozens of programmers, designers, and artists collaborated on developing JC3:MP – a multiplayer modification for the Windows PC version of Just Cause 3.
After over 2 years of development and public beta testing, JC3:MP Version 1.0 finally launched on February 10, 2018. And it‘s been improving in leaps and bounds ever since!
This amazing community effort opened up the possibilities of Just Cause multiplayer mayhem to any PC player. I‘ll be forever grateful to the modding masters for their hard work.
JC3:MP Lets You Play Online With Hundreds of Fellow Fans
Here‘s a quick rundown of what you can experience in JC3:MP‘s sandbox multiplayer world:
- Freeroam Chaos – Just hang out and goof around with 100+ other players!
- Custom Game Modes – Race, battle, stunt, and go nuts in player-made modes!
- Roleplay Servers – Join plot-driven scenarios acted out by the community.
- Co-op Missions – Team up to complete challenges and objectives.
- Competitions – Who can pull off the most outrageous stunts and tricks?
- Persistent Progression – Level up your character and unlock new items.
And the best part? You can enjoy all of the above completely free!
No DLC, microtransactions, or paid content whatsoever. All you need is Just Cause 3 on Steam and the JC3:MP mod download to join the fun.
The developers do accept donations to help cover server hosting costs, but gameplay is never locked behind a paywall. Now that‘s a rarity these days!
JC3:MP By the Numbers
Let‘s take a quick look at some stats that showcase the impressive scale and activity of the Just Cause 3 multiplayer modding community:
- 800+ – Average concurrent daily players in November 2023.
- 230,000+ – Total unique players since launch in 2018.
- 1000 – Maximum players supported on a single server.
- 10,000+ – Most Chaos Cores collected by a single player.
- 500+ – Number of community-run servers.
- 20,000+ – Lines of code in the mod. A monumental undertaking!
Given Just Cause 3 originally released in 2015, maintaining those kinds of player numbers nearly 8 years later is astounding.
Clearly JC3:MP is doing something very right to cultivate such an active community!
Experiencing Emergent Gameplay Moments
While messing around in the singleplayer campaign is plenty fun, joining JC3:MP takes the potential for unscripted chaos to another level entirely.
Having hundreds of real people playing together enables amazing emergent gameplay moments that you simply can‘t plan or account for.
Like the time 15 players all grappled onto an airplane at once and held on for dear life as it took off. Or the impromptu car derby cage matches that spontaneously erupt. And don‘t get me started on the C4 volleyball tournaments!
The human imagination combined with Just Cause 3‘s sandbox leads to an infinite amount of gameplay possibilities you‘ll never see coming. There‘s such a thrill from not knowing what to expect next when matched with a server full of creative agents of chaos!
The modders have also expanded possibilities by adding brand new features not present in the base Just Cause 3 game, like parachuting out of the cargo plane together with fellow players.
If you crave unpredictable emergent moments of multiplayer mayhem, JC3:MP delivers endless opportunities.
An Active Development Team and Frequent Updates
Unlike many multiplayer mods for older games that eventually fade into obscurity, JC3:MP benefits from an active development team that continues rolling out new updates regularly.
Recent updates have added exciting new features like custom stunt challenges, team races, player shadowing to help new players, and a remote controlled helicopter!
The developers also quickly address bugs, optimize performance, and tweak gameplay balance based on community feedback.
This level of ongoing support years after Just Cause 3‘s release ensures JC3:MP keeps feeling fresh. I‘m consistently impressed by each new update!
The modders are volunteering their free time, so progress understandably isn‘t as fast as an official studio. But their consistent improvement of JC3:MP is commendable and has built remarkable goodwill with players.
A Welcoming Community of Chaotic Kindred Spirits
One of my favorite parts of JC3:MP is the community. When you join a server, there‘s an immediate kinship thanks to the shared love of Just Cause‘s special brand of explosions-filled fun.
Veteran players happily show newcomers the ropes and creative ways to make the most of the chaos. Even with a thousand players flying around blowing each other up, the atmosphere stays positive and laidback.
The JC3:MP Discord channel feels like a bunch of old friends hanging out, with players sharing their best stunt videos, planning multiplayer events, and helping devs test new updates.
Of course trolls exist like in any online game, but server moderators generally do a great job keeping things chill. Don‘t hesitate to mute or report bad apples.
Overall though, the JC3 community is one of the most welcoming and supportive I‘ve experienced. We‘re all here to relax and goof around after all!
Modding Opens Up Exciting Possibilities
I‘d be remiss not to quickly mention mods!
The amazing Just Cause 3 modding scene has produced mods that enhance graphics, add new weapons, alter gameplay, and much more.
While most gameplay mods don‘t directly carry over into JC3:MP, you can install visual mods like texture overhauls that will work in multiplayer. This lets you spice up the experience with everything from cosmetic tweaks to extensive graphical enhancements.
There‘s something magical about seeing mods like photorealistic rain realized while playing with a huge server of fellow modders. The community even creates mods specifically designed for JC3:MP, like new parachute trails.
Dedicated servers can also run gameplay mods that will apply rules consistently across all players. So modding support still enables really cool possibilities.
And of course you can mod singleplayer all you want when taking a break from multiplayer!
What‘s Still to Come for JC3:MP
While the passionate developers have already added tons of features, their roadmap shows exciting things still slated to come:
- New game modes – Continuously expanding the gameplay possibilities.
- Map expansions – Adding new areas outside Medici to explore and battle within.
- More vehicles – Including long-awaited planes and armed helicopters to fly together.
- User interface refresh – Improving menus, notifications, and quality of life.
- Continued optimizations – Making gameplay smoother even on crowded servers.
It‘s incredible the team continues cranking away on this passion project so many years later. Their dedication shows no signs of slowing down.
I can‘t wait to see what new chaos will come from future JC3:MP updates in store!
Get In On the Fun Right Now!
If this all sounds like your kind of absolute mayhem – join us!
Head over to JC3MP.com to download the mod installer and be up and playing in minutes. It‘s 100% free.
Then browse their server list to find one that fits your style, whether you‘re looking for freeroam chaos, races, structured co-op, or roleplaying.
Trust me, you‘ll know within minutes if JC3:MP‘s flavor of randomized shenanigans vibes with you. The moment you wingsuit into a herd of stunting Rico‘s with unlimited C4 is a magical revelation!
Already own Just Cause 3 for PC and haven‘t tried multiplayer? Stop reading this immediately and go install JC3MP!
Don‘t have JC3 yet? Grab it next time Steam has a big sale. This wonderful mod will give you endless hours of enjoyment from a fantastic singleplayer experience turned multiplayer masterpiece by ingenious modders.
Now if you‘ll excuse me, I have to practice for my regular Sunday stunting showdowns – a new week of earning JC3:MP bragging rights awaits!
Go enjoy one of PC gaming‘s most incredible fan-made mods and I‘ll see you ingame, amigo! Let‘s cause some chaos.
