v2.1.3

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.1.3-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Changed

• AMD FSR 1 and NVIDIA NIS are back: both can be picked again under Display > Upscaling (NIS on Windows). FSR 1 is the default again.
• NVIDIA DLSS (and DLAA), AMD FSR 3.1 and FSR 4 and Intel XeSS stay switched off for now while we fix the performance problem, and FXAA stays the only antialiasing.

Antivirus false positives

Some antivirus programs that are not up to date may flag king_kong.exe as malware. This is a false positive: older machine learning detections can mistake parts of the game, such as its own renderer and its program icon, for something harmful. The fix is to update your antivirus to its latest version.

Kaspersky is the one most often reported. If you cannot update it, Kaspersky's free online check (OpenTIP) shows the file is safe.

Clean scans for this release:

• king_kong.exe: VirusTotal, Kaspersky OpenTIP
• KingKong-v2.1.3-windows-x64.zip: VirusTotal

v2.1.2

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.1.2-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Changed

• Upscalers switched off for now: NVIDIA DLSS (and DLAA), NVIDIA NIS, AMD FSR 1, FSR 3.1 and FSR 4 and Intel XeSS, with all their modes, are switched off while we fix a performance problem in the game. The game draws at the Render quality you choose and scales it to your screen with plain smooth scaling.
• FXAA is the only antialiasing for now: SMAA is switched off too. If you had SMAA, you get FXAA.
• Your old upscaler choice goes back to Off at the first start. They all come back in a later update.

Antivirus false positives

Some antivirus programs that are not up to date may flag king_kong.exe as malware. This is a false positive: older machine learning detections can mistake parts of the game, such as its own renderer and its program icon, for something harmful. The fix is to update your antivirus to its latest version.

Kaspersky is the one most often reported. If you cannot update it, Kaspersky's free online check (OpenTIP) shows the file is safe.

Clean scans for this release:

• king_kong.exe: VirusTotal, Kaspersky OpenTIP
• KingKong-v2.1.2-windows-x64.zip: VirusTotal

v2.1.1

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.1.1-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Fixed

• Crash after changing DLSS or the graphics preset: switching the upscaler on or off (for example on the launcher's Graphics page) could end the game a second later with a lost graphics device, behind an error box the launcher could hide, so the launcher looked frozen. The effects now let go of the old picture buffers when the picture size changes.
• Naming a new save: typing on the keyboard in the Name box of Play > New game did nothing. The box now takes the letters you type.

Antivirus false positives

Some antivirus programs that are not up to date may flag king_kong.exe as malware. This is a false positive: older machine learning detections can mistake parts of the game, such as its own renderer and its program icon, for something harmful. The fix is to update your antivirus to its latest version.

Kaspersky is the one most often reported. If you cannot update it, Kaspersky's free online check (OpenTIP) shows the file is safe.

Clean scans for this release:

• king_kong.exe: VirusTotal, Kaspersky OpenTIP
• KingKong-v2.1.1-windows-x64.zip: VirusTotal

v2.1.0

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.1.0-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Added

• Muzzle flash light: every shot lights what is around it for a moment: walls, the ground, enemies, your hands and gun. On in Remastered (Graphics > Effects).
• Skin shading: light softens and warms on skin, with a touch of red where light meets shadow, as light scattered under skin looks. On in Remastered (Graphics > Effects).
• Depth of field on your hands and gun: they go slightly soft while the world stays sharp. Off by default (Graphics > Effects).
• Parallax occlusion: rock, stone and wood show depth when you look across them. Off by default (Graphics > Effects).
• Reset achievements: the Achievements page has a Reset achievements button that locks every achievement again, so a new playthrough can earn them all again. It asks first, and your saves stay as they are.

Fixed

• The Log soft lock above 60 FPS: after Kong throws the log, Jack could die out of sight at the bottom of the ravine and the chapter started again from the log, over and over. He now lands as he does at 30 FPS, at any frame rate.
• Left Control could not be bound: Left and Right Control, Shift and Alt can now be bound to any action, on their own.
• Mouse and keyboard input went past the frame rate cap (issue #58): every mouse movement and key press showed the last frame again, so overlays counted frames above your cap and motion could look uneven. Input now waits for the game's next frame while the game is drawing.

Changed

• Refresh rate: Fullscreen now always runs at your screen's highest refresh rate at the chosen resolution, so the Refresh rate setting is gone; only the Frame rate is yours to choose. If Windows keeps your screen at a lower rate than it can run (for example 60 Hz on a 165 Hz screen), the Display page and the setup say so and open the Windows display settings where you change it. The log now records your screen's refresh rate.

v2.0.11

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.0.11-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Fixed

• VirusTotal flag on king_kong.exe: one scanner flagged the exe of every release since v2.0.0 as a low confidence guess. The cause was how the program icon was stored: compressed images in the exe look like a hidden payload to automated scanners. The icon is now stored uncompressed and the same exe shows no flags on VirusTotal. The largest icon size is gone, so the icon may look slightly softer in Windows' biggest views.

v2.0.10

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.0.10-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Fixed

• Texture pack and PS2 cutscene downloads: the links behind all six downloads stopped working. The HD, UHD, Comic Book, Tropical Holiday and Cartoon texture packs and the PS2 cutscenes all download again.

v2.0.9

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.0.9-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Added

• Five more languages: Dansk, Nederlands, Norsk, Suomi and Svenska are in the Language list. The launcher, the pause menu, subtitles, chapter names and loading screens all follow it. These five have English voices, as on the disc, so choosing one turns subtitles on.
• Loading screens in every language: the save notice and "Returning to the main menu" now show in your language instead of always in English.

Fixed

• Mouse pointer missing on the main menu: with Keyboard & mouse set, the pointer was hidden on the main menu, and stayed hidden after changing to Controller until the next start. It now stays visible.
• Pointer hidden by a jittery controller: a stick or trigger that wobbles slightly no longer hides the pointer while you use the mouse.
• Clearer update errors: when an update cannot write a file, it now names the file and gives the reason, and says what to do if an antivirus blocked it.
• Clearer crash message: if the game stops with an error while loading on both DirectX 12 and Vulkan, the message no longer blames your graphics driver.

Changed

• Windows file details: King Kong's exe now shows its name, publisher and version in Windows.

v2.0.8

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.0.8-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Changed

• Damn it, I paid for the full CPU, right where you need it: the checkbox is now on the screen where shaders are prepared, for mouse, keyboard or controller, so you no longer need to reach Settings. Ticking it removes the CPU limit straight away. If preparation is under halfway and was held to fewer CPU threads than your PC has, it starts again with all of them. The limit is there for a reason: turning this on may cause a crash.

Fixed

• Texture packs and PS2 cutscenes after moving the King Kong folder: packs remembered their full folder path, so moving the folder could show them as not installed. They now follow the folder every time it starts, including a USB drive with a new drive letter.

v2.0.7

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.0.7-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Changed

• The King Kong folder is now fully portable: your saves, downloads, mods, cache and crash reports are kept in a userdata folder inside the King Kong folder, so you can copy the whole folder to another drive or PC. Nothing goes in Documents any more, so OneDrive no longer backs up gigabytes of game data. The first start of this version moves everything out of Documents\king_kong for you, with a progress window if it takes a while, and nothing is removed from Documents until the copy is checked. Linux keeps its data where it was.

Fixed

• Stuck at steps and ledges above 30 FPS: some steps could only be climbed at 30 FPS, which could soft lock the game until you dropped the frame rate, such as the bank out of the water in The Wall. Jack now gets up them at any frame rate. The fix is in the game's collision, not at single spots, so it applies everywhere.

v2.0.6

Downloads

• Windows: KingKong-v2.0.6-windows-x64.zip
• Linux and Steam Deck: KingKong-linux-x86_64.AppImage
• Already playing? Update from inside the launcher. Your saves, settings and game files are kept.

No game files are included: you need your own copy of the Xbox 360 game. Getting started is in the README.

Added

• Damn it, I paid for the full CPU: a new setting in Graphics > Advanced that removes the CPU limit while shaders are prepared. They finish faster, but your PC may slow down, and it may cause a crash.

Fixed

• Crashes while shaders are prepared: preparing shaders now uses at most 16 CPU threads. If it ends unexpectedly, the next try uses fewer, so it can finish on a PC that struggles under the full load. All threads come back as soon as the shaders are done.