Thief Gold HD mod approaches v1.0, gets a trailer

There's been a lot of talk of downgrades recently; of pre-release trailers being unrepresentative of the eventual release. Here's hoping that this one's legit, because it's a wondrous display of graphical splendour. It's for the v1.0 release of Thief Gold HD—a high-res texture upgrade for the 1998 sneak-'em-up.

Thief: The Dark Project has never looked so good. Admittedly, that isn't really saying much—it was made in the late-'90s after all—but the trailer's comparison between the mod's v1.0 release and the currently available, and already much-improved, v0.9.3 is striking.

Kudos to the mod's makers for imbuing the video with all the hype and escalating tension of a AAA game trailer. That is a baller move.

I'm a big fan of Thief Gold HD mod, and Bentraxx's Thief 2 equivalent. Unlike so many HD texture mods, these are careful to keep the original aesthetic intact. They don't overwhelm the original art style, and that's crucial to preserving Thief's atmosphere.

Thief Gold HD 1.0 is "coming soon". Keep an eye on its ModDB page for more.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.