How Modders Upgrade Classic Games With NVIDIA RTX Remix and AI

NVIDIA recently announced the winners of their RTX Remix Mod Contest at Gamescom, showcasing how hobbyist modders and small teams are transforming old games with the latest graphics technology and artificial intelligence. The contest celebrated mods that took classic titles and made them look as stunning as modern games, all with the help of the NVIDIA RTX Remix platform and new AI tools.

RTX Remix is a special toolkit that lets modders capture graphics from older games and rebuild them by adding lifelike lighting, materials, and 3D models. When paired with generative AI software like PBRFusion and ComfyUI, creators can quickly improve thousands of textures and automate boring tasks, leaving more time for creativity. With NVIDIA RTX graphics cards accelerating the process, projects that used to take years can now be finished in just a few months.

Over 100 mods have already been completed using RTX Remix, and more than 200 are in progress. Popular games like Half-Life 2, Need for Speed Underground, Portal, and Deus Ex have all gotten modern makeovers, with millions of downloads from fans.

One of the standout winners was Painkiller RTX Remix by Merry Pencil Studios. This team used AI to turn more than 35 levels of the original Painkiller game into visually amazing experiences with colorful lighting, realistic shadows, and updated graphics. Their workflow used AI models to automatically improve textures, then focused manual effort on the details that players notice the most.

Other mods were just as impressive. The UnrealRTX project rebuilt nearly every texture in the classic Unreal game with the help of AI. The Need for Speed Underground RTX Remix modded all courses with new materials and lighting, generating hundreds of detailed textures using AI and then putting the final touches by hand. For Portal 2, a custom AI-powered plugin was created to speed up the artistic workflow, blending hand-painted details with automated texture improvements.

These projects show that generative AI is not about replacing artists. Instead, it helps them by handling repetitive work, so artists can focus on creative design and finishing touches. The results are classic games that look and feel brand new, often matching studio quality work.

If you are interested in trying RTX Remix, you can download it from the NVIDIA App and follow step-by-step guides and documentation provided by NVIDIA. Tools like PBRFusion are available to help you turn old, low-resolution textures into modern, physically based materials with just a few clicks. There is an active modding community on Discord and more than one hundred completed Remix mods you can download and enjoy.

As technology evolves, anyone can take classic games and reimagine them with RTX Remix and generative AI. NVIDIA’s growing set of AI tools, tutorials, and community support make it a great time to get started with video game modding, whether you are new to the scene or looking to sharpen your skills.

Original article and image: https://blogs.nvidia.com/blog/rtx-ai-garage-rtx-remix-mod-contest-gen-ai/