GOG updates Thief Gold with modern controls and new languages

GOG updated Thief Gold with modern controller support, German, French and Polish localizations, improved UI scaling, updated graphics and audio defaults, optimized controls and the latest NewDark 1.27 engine work. The preservation release also bundled in the earlier Thief: The Dark Project, and existing owners did not have to buy the game again to get the upgrade.

The biggest change is how the game can now be played. GOG integrated the Gamepad Mod with its GOG Input Wrapper, adding radial menus, customizable controls, rumble and support for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, Logitech and Amazon Luna controllers. Peter Wright worked with GOG on the integration, and the result gives Garrett a far more flexible way back into the shadows, whether the player wants a desk setup or a more relaxed couch-style session.

The update also closed the loop on GOG’s first-ever Patron vote. Thief Gold won that vote on May 27, 2026, and GOG said then that the game would receive Preservation Program treatment within two months. The release landing now also marks the end of the first Patron Vote and the start of the next one, with Nox, Lands of Lore 1 & 2, Might and Magic VII: For Blood and Honor, Silver and Albion on the new ballot.

That broader preservation push matters because GOG launched the program in November 2024 to keep older PC games playable on current hardware through ongoing technical work. The Digital Preservation Coalition has noted that GOG frames that work as including widescreen and high-resolution support, controller rewrites and stability fixes, while the Video Game History Foundation estimates that 87% of games released before 2010 are no longer commercially available. In that context, Thief Gold is not just back on a store page. It is being maintained as a living PC release.

The timing also puts GOG’s version alongside Nightdive Studios’ Thief: The Dark Project Remastered, which will use the KEX Engine and includes the missions, content and updates from the 1999 Thief Gold release. PCGamingWiki describes Thief Gold as an expanded November 1999 re-release with three new missions, edited existing missions, new enemies and bug fixes. GOG’s update leans into that same history, but instead of asking players to wait for a remake, it has already made the classic cleaner, broader and far easier to start playing now.