Grand Theft Auto 4 gets major update after a decade

As fans await the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, an iconic GTA 4 mod has received its first major update after 11 years.

While the fourth instalment in the hit gaming franchise was released in 2008, the iCEnhancer mod greatly enhanced the game in 2011.

Created by modder Hayssam Keilany, iCEnhancer was designed to dramatically improve the game’s visual quality.

The mod is widely known for pushing the graphical limits of Rockstar Games’ 2008 game.

In the following years, several new versions were released to further enhance the fourth title in the Grand Theft Auto franchise.

However, the updates stopped after version 3.0 in 2014, after Hayssam Keilany reportedly received backlash from the modding community.

The popular modder announced in 2019 that he was working to release another version of iCEnhancer.

After a six-year wait, Grand Theft Auto 4 players finally received iCEnhancer 4.0 on July 14, rolling out physically based lighting for the first time.

The latest version also brings faster shaders, significant enhancements to fog and cloud rendering to influence the lighting system.

Additional enhancements include more realistic skies, redesigned glass textures, and resolving compatibility issues with Windows 11.

Hayssam Keilany has dubbed the 4.0 version as the most stable and optimised release of iCEnhancer to date.

The release of the update comes as fans await the launch of GTA 6, set to release on May 26, 2026, as per a statement by Rockstar Games.

In May this year, the developer announced that the game was pushed from Fall 2025 as they needed “extra time to deliver at the level of quality you expect and deserve.”