# March 9, 2026

## Dashboard

### DLC Management

{% hint style="success" %}
**NEW FEATURE:** Full Downloadable Content (DLC) support is now available!\
Create, manage, and deploy DLC packages for your games — all from the Dashboard.
{% endhint %}

<div data-full-width="true"><figure><img src="/files/kVeo7p2AT6UyBzHdW0WX" alt=""><figcaption><p>App - Downloadable Content (DLC) Tab</p></figcaption></figure></div>

You can now manage DLCs directly from a dedicated **DLC** tab inside each App.\
\
Create DLC entries with custom names, covers, install modes, and optional interaction URLs that players can click in the launcher.

**What is Downloadable Content (DLC)?**

It works exactly as an [app build](#user-content-fn-1)[^1] but optionally to install. *E.g. Winter Extension Pack*

**Key capabilities:**

<figure><img src="/files/LryYJbX46tP0JPtmkaxO" alt=""><figcaption><p>Edit DLC View</p></figcaption></figure>

| Feature            | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Create & Edit DLCs | Add DLC entries with name, cover image, install mode and interaction URL                                                                                                                                                       |
| DLC Builds         | Upload DLC builds and assign them to environments, just like app builds                                                                                                                                                        |
| Merge Builds       | Create merge builds by selecting a baseline build and specifying removed paths                                                                                                                                                 |
| Install Mode       | <p><strong>Subfolder</strong></p><ul><li>DLC will be installed in the DLC subfolder of the app<br></li></ul><p><strong>Independent</strong></p><ul><li>DLCs can be installed in a custom folder chosen by the player</li></ul> |
| Interaction URL    | Optional URL that opens when a player clicks the DLC cover or title                                                                                                                                                            |

***

### Storage Optimized Builds (Smart Bundle Exclusive Mode)

{% hint style="success" %}
**NEW FEATURE:** Builds can now use **Storage Optimized** mode, which drastically reduces build processing times — especially for Merge Builds and projects with very large numbers of files.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/lH8HnzGDKl9xoDwzWLgz" alt=""><figcaption><p>Build Details - Storage Optimized Badge</p></figcaption></figure>

#### The Problem

Previously, when uploading a build, small files (<5MB) were grouped into **Smart Bundles** to optimize downloads. However, those small files were **also uploaded individually** to Cloudflare storage.

This allowed fast file repair, but caused two issues:

* **Much longer upload times** — imagine 50,000+ files uploading one by one
* **More storage usage** — builds consumed more quota than necessary

#### The Solution

Small files will **no longer be uploaded individually**, since they already exist inside Smart Bundles.

**How it works by build type:**

| Build Type      | Behavior                                                                            |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Standard builds | Only large files and Smart Bundles are uploaded                                     |
| Merge builds    | Smart Bundles are downloaded and extracted instead of thousands of individual files |

**Launcher repair:** If a file is missing or corrupted, the launcher will download the Smart Bundle containing that file and repair the game automatically.

**Result:** Much faster uploads, faster merge builds, and more efficient storage.

A **Storage Optimized** badge is displayed in the build details view when a build uses this mode.

{% hint style="danger" %}
**BREAKING CHANGE:** Older launchers will not be able to download builds processed with Storage Optimized mode.

By *default* the **Storage Optimized** builds are **DISABLED** on **existing** launchers.

> STORAGE OPTIMIZED BUILDS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE BUILD COMPILATION AND STORAGE USED FROM 10 MINUTES TO 1 MINUTE BUILD TIME

**How to enable Storage Optimized builds**

1. Deploy a new launcher build and set it as the active build
2. Navigate to **Launcher Advanced Settings** and **Enable Storage Optimized Builds**.

That's all! Your next app build will use it!

*After 30 days this option will be checked automatically.*
{% endhint %}

***

### Build File Viewer

{% hint style="success" %}
**NEW FEATURE:** The build details page now includes a powerful file viewer with tree view, bundles view, sorting, pagination, and file integrity information.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/8M5quCfHNT8RCBOuBrrc" alt=""><figcaption><p>Build Details - Version Info File Viewer (Tree View)</p></figcaption></figure>

Explore your build files in three different views:

* **Flat view** — Traditional file list with sorting and pagination
* **Tree view (now default)** — Hierarchical folder structure with expand/collapse controls
* **Bundles view** — Files grouped by Smart Bundle, with expandable bundle groups

Additional improvements:

* **Sortable columns** — Click column headers to sort by path, file size, hash, or bundle ID
* **File hash & bundle info** — Each file now displays its hash (xxHash64 or MD5) and Smart Bundle membership
* **Change & compare toggles** — For merge/delete builds, visualize added, modified, and deleted files with diff icons and color highlights
* **Resizable columns** — Drag to resize the file path column
* **Responsive layout** — Improved support for smaller screens

***

### Environment Alias Display

Environments now display their **alias** (when configured) in the **App Builds** instead of the raw environment name across build lists, DLC entries, and environment selectors.

<figure><img src="/files/qJU2BNz4RaGcTGb3syal" alt=""><figcaption><p>Environment Alias Display</p></figcaption></figure>

***

**Possible Previous Install Locations**

{% hint style="success" %}
Support for detecting the game installation in the same root of the Launcher.

`<LAUNCHER_ROOT>`
{% endhint %}

The **Possible Previous Install Locations** setting now supports a special `<LAUNCHER_ROOT>` token that resolves to the launcher's installation folder at runtime. This is useful for detecting previous installations relative to where the launcher is installed.

<figure><img src="/files/bJMGis74TAHu7ldiTUPT" alt=""><figcaption><p>NEW - Detect App Installation in the same root of the Launcher</p></figcaption></figure>

***

### Build Processing Improvements

{% hint style="success" %}
**NEW FEATURE:** Now you can see the progress of the current stage of a build!
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/qkdUvp30gxbfHSL867sd" alt=""><figcaption><p>NEW - Stage Progress</p></figcaption></figure>

***

## Desktop Launcher

### DLC Manager

{% hint style="success" %}
**NEW FEATURE:** The Desktop Launcher now fully supports DLCs! Players can browse, install, uninstall, and manage downloadable content directly from the launcher.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/iu0R8qh1ExN8ahiIvt8A" alt=""><figcaption><p>NEW - Downloadable Content Window</p></figcaption></figure>

<figure><img src="/files/88cnRik4rocnBGymkrTP" alt=""><figcaption><p>NEW - Downloadable Content Option</p></figcaption></figure>

A new **Manage DLC** option is available in the app settings dropdown. From the DLC Manager window, players can:

* **Browse available DLCs** with cover images and descriptions
* **Install / Uninstall** individual DLCs with a toggle switch
* **Independent install mode** — Choose a custom folder for DLC installation
* **Auto-verification** — Installed DLCs are automatically verified in the background using checksum validation
* **Interaction URL** — Click on a DLC cover or title to open the developer-configured URL
* **Open install folder** — Quickly open a DLC's install folder in the file explorer
* **Repair integration** — DLC verification is included as part of the Repair Game flow

***

## CLI

### Version 1.2.0

{% hint style="success" %}
**NEW VERSION:** CLI v1.2.0 is now available with full DLC support and improved progress display.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/QVullRZPtP2cxuW7YjB6" alt=""><figcaption><p>CLI - v1.2.0.1</p></figcaption></figure>

**New commands:**

| Command      | Description                                          |
| ------------ | ---------------------------------------------------- |
| `dlc-upload` | Upload DLC builds with interactive flow and progress |
| `dlc-status` | Check DLC build processing status (watch/json modes) |

It includes other minor fixes.

***

## Core Engine

### Performance Optimizations

Significant performance improvements for patch creation and file processing:

| Optimization               | Detail                                                          |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| O(1) file lookups          | Dictionary-based lookups replace linear searches                |
| Parallel bundle creation   | Up to 8 threads for Smart Bundle creation                       |
| Parallel hashing           | Up to 8 threads for file hash computation                       |
| Parallel compression       | Up to 12 threads for compression operations                     |
| Memory-efficient traversal | `EnumerateFiles` replaces `GetFiles` to reduce allocations      |
| Parallel incremental diffs | Two-phase approach: collect candidates then process in parallel |

***

{% hint style="info" %}
**Need Help?** Check out our [Help Center](https://help.gamelauncher.cloud/) or join our [Discord Community](https://discord.gamelauncher.cloud)!
{% endhint %}

[^1]: A patch containing the files of your game


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