Garry's Mod

64-bit Windows binaries formed the biggest upgrade in the September 16 update, covering the client, dedicated servers, and most developer tools. The same release added standalone Insurgency (2014) mounting, Hacked Manhacks, and damageable Dropships, while an earlier April update significantly improved networking and expanded built-in content.

• 64-bit and networking overhaul: Windows clients, dedicated servers, and most developer tools moved to 64-bit binaries, reducing crash risks on heavily populated servers. The April 29 update also introduced network protocol changes that shortened transfer times and reduced bandwidth usage.
• Mountable games and Sandbox additions: Garry’s Mod added standalone Insurgency (2014), Black Mesa, and Military Conflict: Vietnam as mountable games. The Combine APC became a fully driveable built-in vehicle, and Hacked Manhacks joined the spawnmenu as a new NPC variation.
• Gameplay changes: Sandbox Dropships became vulnerable to damage, making them more interactive when spawned. Combine Mines also respected the Ignore Player and Disable AI settings after the December 10 update.
• Spawnmenu and model-selection improvements: The September 16 update overhauled the player model selector with categories, a larger layout, and improved model rendering. Spawnmenu content tabs gained subcategories, while the April 29 update improved the default HUD’s weapon selector and ammo displays for 4K resolutions.
• Engine and addon compatibility: The April 23 update introduced under-the-hood changes that could break existing binary modules. Follow-up fixes restored Linux addon mounting for unusual filenames, added fallbacks for community-addon panel errors, and resolved startup crashes affecting native 32-bit Linux clients.

The addition of Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2 content on July 23, 2025, marked a significant update for Garry's Mod, bringing most of the episodic content from these games into the fold. This update also included new Lua API features and a host of new entities from newer Source Engine games, enhancing the game's modding capabilities.

• New Content: Major content additions included:

  • Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2 content added by default.
  • New entities from newer Source Engine games on March 26, 2025.
  • Integration of Klaus Veens Treason assets on March 26, 2025.
  • Half-Life 2: Episode 2 content available in the spawnmenu by default on July 23, 2025.

• Gameplay Enhancements:

  • New NPC Weapon Options on November 12, 2025, allowed more NPCs to use a variety of weapons.
  • Several console command restrictions were implemented on December 9, 2024, to improve server management and player connectivity.

• Visual and Audio Improvements:

  • A new 4-Way Blend Shader and improved water rendering features were added on November 12, 2025, enhancing map aesthetics.
  • Audio fixes included resolving shotgun sound desync issues on March 28, 2025.

• Balance Changes:

  • The blocking of certain convar changes by the Lua API on May 9, 2025, aimed to prevent crashes, while the default mem_max_heapsize was increased to 512.

• Quality of Life Features:

  • Improvements to Faceposer and the addition of a Spawn Menu toggle option were introduced on November 12, 2025, along with various improvements for modders and players.

The March 13 sandbox and modding update was the biggest content beat, adding Portal 1 entities for owners of Portal 1, a customizable default crosshair, expanded duplicator support, and a large set of Lua API features. The Particle Editor later gained a newer Source-style layout, while Default Spawnlists exposed every base-game model with pre-generated spawnicons.

• New sandbox content: Portal 1 Entities became available in the base game for Portal 1 owners, and Default Spawnlists expanded to cover every base-game model with generated spawnicons.
• Modding toolkit: Several changes gave creators more room to build and maintain addons.
  • Particle Editor: A new layout modeled on newer Source Engine games added particle operators and initializers.
  • Lua API: The March update added a substantial set of features for mod makers, while also removing functions such as ConsoleAutoComplete, Panel.Command, and Panel.SetActionFunction.
  • Mapping limits: MAX_MAP_OVERLAYS, MAX_MAP_TEXDATA, and MAX_MAP_TEXINFO received major increases.
  • Map files: Color-correction files and vehicle scripts became usable from map files.
• Sandbox tools and customization: Default Crosshair and Customization Options, Duplicator Support Improvements, and Sandbox Bodygroup & Skin Changer Improvements made everyday building and character setup more flexible. Addon Preset Sharing, Faceposer Tool Upgrades, and Spawnmenu Improvements also improved addon management and tool navigation.
• Reliability and security: High-impact fixes addressed crashes involving ClientsideModel, ents.CreateClientProp, NWVars, texture loading, sounds, the mesh library, ragdolls, and invalid sprite textures. HackerOne reports and holiday security issues received fixes, while the DirectSoundCapture fix restored voice chat for affected setups.

Year 17 for Garry's Mod introduced significant gameplay updates, highlighted by the removal of the script limit for singleplayer on June 28, 2023. This experimental change allows players to use an unlimited number of addons, enhancing the customization potential of the game. Additionally, the introduction of the Derma Icon Browser on April 18, 2023, improved the interface for developers, while various new utility functions were added on August 8, 2023.

• Gameplay Changes: The removal of the script limit for singleplayer opened up new possibilities for players. Duplicator now saves and restores sub materials by default, and Player:IsListenServerHost became shareable, enhancing multiplayer functionalities.
• New Content: The Hammer Editor saw new additions, including new entities and static prop lightmaps on June 28, 2023. Multiple utility functions like util.IsSphereIntersectingCone and util.IsPointInCone were added on August 8, 2023, broadening the scripting capabilities.
• Balance Changes: The physics engine received significant updates, including clamping physics forces applied by phys_torque to prevent crashes and erratic behaviors. Language handling improvements included error notifications for invalid inputs and a limit increase on language.GetPhrase outputs.
• Modding Enhancements: A new Lua API introduced several additions for modders, making it easier to create and integrate custom content into the game.
• Quality of Life Improvements: New options for deleting temporary server files on shutdown and stricter access control for certain commands were implemented to enhance user experience.

Garry's Mod introduced a significant Steam Chat Filtering feature on February 2, 2022, enhancing the in-game chat experience with an optional toggle. Additionally, a new permissions tab was added on December 15, 2021, allowing players to manage server permissions more effectively.

• New Features:

  • Added NextBot.GetLastKnownArea and NextBot.ClearLastKnownArea on March 10, 2022.
  • Introduced util.FilterText function alongside TEXT_FILTER_ enums on February 2, 2022.

• Gameplay Enhancements:

  • Updated the Map Saves feature on December 15, 2021, to help install necessary maps for saved games.
  • Enhanced the Duplicator Tool, enabling it to store a list of Steam Workshop items used for duplications on December 15, 2021.
  • Allowed physgunning of persistent props when persistence was disabled on March 10, 2022.

• Balance Changes:

  • Relaxed the voice packet kick threshold on March 17, 2022.
  • Reduced the Faceposer Tool's convar count to match engine limits on February 2, 2022.

• Quality of Life Improvements:

  • Improved support for disabled hoverballs in the Duplicator on February 2, 2022.
  • Clarified the sbox_persist changes and prevented map cleanup when disabling persistence on February 2, 2022.

Garry's Mod introduced colorable ropes for constraint tools in Sandbox on June 9, 2021, a significant new feature enhancing customization options. The update also included gamemode categories in the server browser, which improved ease of use for server owners and players alike by allowing better filtering. Additionally, a new mountable game, G String, was added on January 27, 2021.

• New Features:

  • Colorable Ropes for Constraint Tools: Added support for colorable ropes in Sandbox.
  • Gamemode Categories: Required updates for server owners to enable easier filtering.
  • Added G String: New mountable game integrated into Garry's Mod.

• UI/UX Improvements:

  • Hammer Editor Improvements: Updates included a new Sprinkler tool and crash fixes.
  • Server Browser Enhancements: Major improvements including gamemode categories and location flags.
  • Server Location and Language Display: Now shows server location and spoken language.

• Quality of Life Changes:

  • Per Player Voice Chat Scaling: Players can adjust voice chat volume for individual users.
  • Problems Menu: Introduced a new menu to help players resolve common issues.

• Gameplay Adjustments:

  • Sandbox Camera SWEP Zooming Rate: Adjusted to be server tickrate independent.

• Lua API Changes:

  • Changes to Vehicle.SetVehicleParams affected existing scripts, particularly those related to vehicle speeds.

The introduction of the Addon Presets Feature on October 14, 2020, marked a significant update for Garry's Mod, allowing players to save and manage groups of addons more efficiently. Other notable additions included support for new mountable games like The Stanley Parable and Fistful of Frags, as well as substantial improvements to Steam Workshop support.

• New Features:

  • Addon Presets Feature added to manage groups of addons.
  • New Mountable Games: Included The Stanley Parable and Fistful of Frags.
  • Steam Workshop Support Changes: Removed size limits for addons, allowing for more efficient downloads.
  • In-Game Updates for Dupes, Saves, and Demos: Players could update their uploaded content directly in-game.

• Gameplay Changes:

  • Super Gravity Gun Upgrade: Enhanced functionality for gameplay within Citadel levels.
  • Hoverball Tool Toggle Feature: Added a toggle for the Hoverball tool in the Sandbox.

• Balance Adjustments:

  • Super Gravity Gun Restored: Functionality was fully restored and could be toggled via console.
  • Ranking Penalty for Servers without GSLT: Introduced penalties for servers lacking Game Server Login Tokens.
  • gmpublish.exe Update Requirement: Required updates for addons published with third-party tools.

• Quality of Life Improvements:

  • Prevent Deletion of Key Spawnmenu Items: Players could no longer delete essential items from the spawnmenu.
  • Improved Steam Workshop Download Handling: Enhanced handling of downloads when joining servers.

• System Updates:

  • Introduction of 64bit Builds and Chromium: Transition to improved builds and a new browser engine for better performance.
  • Transition to ISteamUGC API: Moved to a new Steam API for enhanced workshop features.

HEV Suit Functionality returned on November 12, 2019, restoring Half-Life 2-style limited flashlight, oxygen, and sprint energy. The broader Half-Life: Source integration also expanded Garry’s Mod’s built-in weapons and entities, while Half-Life campaign support received several notable gameplay improvements.

• Half-Life: Source content: Half-Life: Source entities joined the game in February, followed by Half-Life: Source weapons and entities becoming directly available through the Spawnmenu in July.
• Half-Life campaigns and NPC combat: Half-Life campaign support gained proper level transitions, restored Gauss Guns for Jeeps, and adjusted suit charger armor restoration. Scripted weapons also received better NPC support, while built-in Half-Life 2 weapons and NPC weapon use—including the .357 Magnum and Glock—were substantially improved.
• Rendering and modding tools:
  • Dynamic Render To Texture Shadow Angles added customizable console variables for dynamic shadow direction.
  • util.GetModelMeshes gave Lua developers new ways to modify existing models.
  • Hammer Editor gained .vmf drag-and-drop support and fixed checkerboard reflection problems.
• Cross-game map support: Counter-Strike: Global Offensive maps received improved static-prop colors, Physics Gun and bullet behavior, map loading, and visual reliability. Left 4 Dead and CS:GO maps also saw fixes for flickering models and unexpected water effects.
• Security and server integrity: The Lua file hashing algorithm was changed to prevent improperly run clientside code, while the Server Update Requirement prevented players from joining servers that had not updated and blocked downgrades. The gm_giveswep and SQLite exploits were also resolved.

Garry's Mod saw significant updates during its twelfth year with the introduction of new functions and methods for NPCs and entities on February 26, 2018, along with an updated version of Trouble in Terrorist Town (TTT). This period also brought enhancements to various tools and improved gameplay mechanics, making it a fruitful time for players.

• Major content additions:

  • Added various new functions and methods for NPCs and entities on February 26, 2018.
  • Updated TTT to the latest version on February 26, 2018.

• New tools and enhancements:

  • Enhanced Eye Poser and Finger Poser Tools to now be usable on Effects on May 29, 2018.
  • Introduced several new file manipulation functions, including File.ReadUShort and File.WriteULong on February 26, 2018.

• Gameplay improvements:

  • Bone manipulation now affects hit boxes for Players and NPCs, improving accuracy in gameplay on May 29, 2018.
  • Reload animations were improved to automatically stop when switching weapons on May 29, 2018.

• Balance changes:

  • Medkit Weapon healing was adjusted to properly heal players to max health, with lag compensation added on May 29, 2018.
  • Updated all built-in weapons to function better with NPCs on February 26, 2018.

• User interface updates:

  • Added a quick filter feature in Faceposer for easier navigation of flexes by name on May 29, 2018.
  • Introduced a 'Favourite this server' button in the main menu for quick access on May 29, 2018.

• Security and bug fixes:

  • A security hotfix addressed a Lua script exploit on August 14, 2018.
  • Fixed multiple crash issues and various exploits throughout the year, significantly improving stability.

The July 10 update was Garry's Mod's biggest content beat, expanding its Lua API, addon management, Hammer editor, and Trouble in Terrorist Town tools. The November 21 Physgun exploit fix and the November 15 Remove property restrictions also hardened servers against crashes and destructive clients.

• Lua and addon tools: July 10 added Entity:PhysicsInitStatic, Entity:RemoveCallback, Entity:GetCallbacks, and CLuaEmitter:IsValid, while November 15 added input.SelectWeapon(entity). Quick Preset and Utilities menu presets streamlined saved configurations, and the Addons menu gained search and bulk unsubscribe support.
• Trouble in Terrorist Town: The mode gained sortable scoreboards and corpses that retained dead players’ skins and bodygroups. Its fall-damage problem and two denial-of-service exploits were also addressed.
• Hammer and map support: Hammer received improved 2D/3D view performance, scroll rendering, a 32,000-unit render distance, more forgiving vertex merging, and correctly rendered blended textures. Support also improved for CS:GO, Portal 2, and TF2 maps.
• Server security and compatibility: The February and May Security Hotfixes blocked malicious server-crash methods, while the July 25 remote-code-execution fix addressed a major exploit. The November 15 startup-exploit fixes and November 21 Physgun crash fix added further protection; the ILuaInterface compatibility changes, however, meant some third-party binary modules no longer functioned.

Steam Peer-To-Peer Feature gave Garry’s Mod a simpler way to host and join games without router or firewall configuration. Queued (Multicore) Rendering brought potentially major frame-rate gains, while the October 2016 update expanded the Base Sandbox Tools and Physgun.

• Steam multiplayer: Steam Peer-To-Peer Feature allowed players to connect more easily, and Peer-To-Peer Listen Servers let users join games started through the main menu’s Start New Game option. Peer-To-Peer Friends Only Mode also restricted sessions to Steam friends.
• Sandbox tools and physics: Updates to Base Sandbox Tools added features across the default toolset, while Physgun Improvements refined the Physics Gun. Sandbox Spawnmenu Updates & Optimization refreshed the spawn menu and related interface elements, and New Main Menu Backgrounds added community-created artwork.
• Rendering and networking: Queued (Multicore) Rendering improved performance, with the July refinement making results more robust across different hardware and scenes. NPC Networking Optimizations also improved how non-player characters were handled over the network.
• Modding support: Lua API Improvements and New Features for Modders expanded development capabilities. GetLuaTable Crash Fix, HTTP Request Leak Fix, Scripted Weapons Functionality, and Lua Console Commands Removal addressed several issues affecting Lua-heavy servers and addons.
• Security and campaign reliability: Crash and Security Fixes addressed serious stability and security problems, while Half-Life 2 Campaign Fixes improved the built-in campaign. Fixes for Exploits and Regressions also rolled back several problems introduced by earlier updates.

Support for Latest Team Fortress 2 Maps was the biggest content addition, bringing the newest Team Fortress 2 maps into Garry’s Mod. Handy Additions for Developers expanded the game’s developer tooling, while improved nextbot and navmesh scripting strengthened custom gameplay creation.

• Team Fortress 2 map support: Added compatibility for the latest Team Fortress 2 maps.
• Handy Additions for Developers: Introduced new developer features and tools, alongside the Stability Improvements and Various Exploit Fixes from the same update.
• Nextbot and navmesh scripting: Improved scripting support for nextbots and navmeshes expanded what custom AI and navigation systems could do; Minor optimizations and Fixes for various bugs and exploits also accompanied the June update.

The Source Engine File Sending Mechanism exploit fix was the marquee change, closing a vulnerability that let attackers send files with any extension to clients or servers. Entity:SetLegacyTransform(bool) restored older scaling behavior, while GLIBC_2.15 introduced a notable Linux dedicated-server requirement.

• Source Engine File Sending Mechanism exploit fix: The security update blocked arbitrary-extension file sending, while Cleanup from Exploit Activity addressed spam that changed chat and server names.
• Entity:SetLegacyTransform(bool) and audio APIs: The July addition restored legacy entity scaling, while IGModAudioChannel:IsBlockStreamed added a way to identify block-streamed audio channels.
• Model, combat, and multiplayer behavior: Entity:SetModelScale and Entity:EnableMatrix no longer applied transformations twice; TTT ironsights worked again; Entity:FireBullets stopped applying ammo-specific damage when damage was zero without an explicit ammo type; and Father Grigori regained his “king of animals” behavior. Non-ASCII player names also remained intact after an exploit-related regression.
• GLIBC_2.15 and server scripting: Linux dedicated servers required glibc 2.15. properties.HaloThink was removed, _restart was removed from the blocked concommand list, and plugin_load worked again.

Garry's Mod introduced Kinect support in Update 153 on December 6, 2012, enhancing the game's accessibility for players using motion controls. Additionally, the Workshop Addons Download on Server Join feature launched on July 5, 2013, allowing players to seamlessly download Workshop addons when joining servers.

• Kinect Support: Update 153 added support for Kinect, enabling new gameplay possibilities through motion controls.
• Workshop Addons: Players can download Workshop addons automatically upon joining a server, improving the modding experience.
• New Functionality: The resource.AddWorkshop function was introduced, allowing developers to add Workshop resources more easily.
• Crash Fixes: A critical crash issue that occurred when starting a map was resolved, improving overall stability.
• Font Issues: The update fixed a problem where fonts became invisible when changing resolution, enhancing visual clarity.
• Sound Functionality: The callback functionality for sound.PlayURL was corrected, ensuring it works reliably.