GTA 4's most famous lighting mod gets its first major update in 11 years, brightening up Liberty City from cloud to ground

A sporty purple Pegassi from Grand Theft Auto 4 with Niko Bellic driving. — (Image credit: Rockstar (mod by Hayssam Keilany)

One of Grand Theft Auto 4's biggest and most ambitious mods just launched its first major update in almost 11 years. Icenhancer 4.0 from Hayssam Keilany is finally live, adding physics-based lighting and more compatibility options between other GTA 4 mods in what sounds like a helluva undertaking.

The lighting overhaul mod first launched back in 2011, but Keilany stepped away from the modding scene back in 2014 after enduring years of nasty comments leading into Ice 3's release and what sounds like too many thankless hours deep in the debug mines. Version 4.0 is likely all we're getting for a while, as Keilany explained he's "putting 4.1 on hiatus for now" in the Icenhancer Discord.

iCEnhancer 4.0 - Release trailer - YouTube

Watch On

It's a beefy update that Keilany credits fellow modder Krystaling and ENB mod creator Boris Vorontsov for making possible. There's quite a lengthy list of light changes big and small in version 4.0, but a few of the highlights you may notice include:

New Shaders for fog rendering and water
Shaders are now 2X faster than older versions
Clouds and fog affect lighting
Improvements to sky colors and glass textures
Compatibility fixes with ENB after Windows 11 updates

Before taking the new Icenhancer for a test drive, you'll have to install ENB's July 2025 release and make sure you're running GTA 4 patch 1.0.4.0 (a fresh install of the base game is for patch 1.0.8.0). The GTA 4 downgrader helps with that, rolling back to Icenhancer's recommended build for the best mod performance.

As for Icenhancer 4.1, the wait may be a while. Keilany's Discord updates detail all the testing nightmares he encountered to get the mod's upgrades working, as well as his collaboration with Vorontsov after Windows 11 broke damn near everything related to ENB, Ice 3, and earlier builds of Ice 4. Getting a public version out the door took a toll on the mod's author, and while there are still Cinematic and Natural presets available to donors over Ko-Fi, there's no public option for the stylized GTA 4 filters just yet.

Andrea has been covering games for nearly a decade, picking up bylines at IGN, USA Today, Fanbyte, and Destructoid before joining the PC Gamer team in 2025. She's got a soft spot for older RPGs and is willing to try just about anything with a lovey-dovey "I can fix them" romance element. Her weekly to-do always includes a bit of MMO time, endlessly achievement hunting and raiding in Final Fantasy 14. Outside of those staples, she's often got a few survival-crafting games on rotation and loves a good scare in co-op horror games.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.