Lovingly referred to as the Swiss Army Knife of PC gaming, Special K does a bit of everything. It is best known for fixing and enhancing graphics, its many detailed performance analysis and correction mods, and a constantly growing palette of tools that solve a wide variety of issues affecting PC games.
Download
Special K has two different versions: a “stable” version that gets updated every 6 months or so, as well as a more experimental version where new features and fixes are introduced before being included in the next stable version.
Stable
Use the following link to download a stable version of Special K. This version is often dated by a few months, so if you run into any issues try using the experimental version as the issue might’ve been changed in that one.
Experimental
The latest experimental versions can be found over on the Discord server, where all active development and releases occurs. It’s also possible to opt-in to this version from the stable version:
- Launch the Special K Injection Frontend (SKIF.exe)
- Open the ⚙ Settings tab.
- Change Check for updates to Special K to
Discord (updates regularly). - If there’s a new version available it will automatically be downloaded (~10 MB) in the background. Once the download is finished, SKIF will prompt about installing it.
Bundled Applications
SKIF Special K Injection Frontend
- Ultra light-weight (Steam, Epic, Xbox, GOG) launcher that can bypass Steam’s forced patching and Microsoft Store inconveniences.
- Direct integration with Special K’s ValvePlug project (the holy grail Steam Input kill-switch that Valve stubbornly refuses to implement).
SKIV Special K Image Viewer
- One-of-a-kind portable HDR image viewer, screen capture/snipping, tonemapping and analysis tool with decode/encode/transcode for JPEG-XR, JPEG-XL, AVIF, Radiance HDR, OpenEXR, UltraHDR and PNG.
- Runs on Linux using Proton with support for all-of-the-above except for Microsoft’s patented JPEG-XR (HD Photo) format.
Features
Special K features a wide array of tools and overrides that can be used in most games:
- Advanced FPS limiter with automatic VRR optimization to nail perfect frame pacing
- Comprehensive real-time latency and display output analysis to validate and fix VRR issues
- Improved latency and performance in borderless window mode for Direct3D 11 games
- HDR screenshots using JPEG-XR, JPEG-XL, AVIF or PNG with configurable compression quality and in-game snipping
- HDR->SDR screenshot tonemapping and real HDR image pasting support (AVIF/PNG)
- HDR retrofit for OpenGL, Vulkan, Direct3D 11 and 12 titles
- Override DirectStorage settings in games that use it
- Override DLSS settings such as resolution scale, preset, sharpening, exposure and load alternate DLL versions
- Add/Override NVIDIA Reflex in D3D11/12/Vulkan games
- Override the display mode, force borderless window, fullscreen exclusive, refresh rate, vertical sync, and such
- Assign audio devices to display devices so that moving a game onto a different display will change audio output
- Enable games to continue running if keyboard focus belongs to a different application
- XInput/Windows.Gaming.Input/GameInput emulation layer for PlayStation controllers in games that only support Xbox
- Advanced DualSense Edge functionality, including universal fix for Unity games that only support original DualSense
- Disable keyboard/mouse/gamepad input devices in games to workaround faulty input behavior
- Play a sound effect and/or trigger screenshots when a Steam or Epic achievement unlocks
- And much more!
On top of this Special K also features game-specific tweaks and optimizations to improve the experience for its users:
- Elden Ring
- Chrono Cross
- Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Mega Mix+
- Final Fantasy XV
- ELEX II
- NieR: Automata
- NieR: Replicant
- Monster Hunter: World
- Persona 4 Golden
- Secret of Mana
- Tales of Vesperia
- Dragon Quest XI
- And many many more…
Source Code
The source code of Special K is licensed under GNU GPL v3.0 and can be found on GitHub.
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