If you have been browsing the Friday Night Funkin’ community recently, you have likely run into the term “FNF V-Slice” or simply “V-Slice.” Many players still treat it as a future update, but since April 30, 2024, the official base game has already been running on that foundation.
This article explains what FNF V-Slice means, what changed with the milestone, and how to tell whether you are playing the modern official engine.
Audience: New players
Last verified: 2026-07-01
Builds checked: Desktop v0.8.4 (2026-03-26) and Android v0.8.5 hotfix (2026-04-06)
Before you start
Where to play the official game
| Platform | Source |
|---|---|
| Web | Newgrounds |
| PC (Windows / Mac / Linux) | Itch.io or GitHub Releases |
| Android | Google Play |
| iOS | App Store |
How to check your version
On PC builds, the version number usually appears on the title screen or in the pause menu. If you installed from Itch.io or GitHub Releases after April 2024, you are likely on the FNF V-Slice codebase, but you should still confirm the version string on your build.
Figure 1 - Author screenshot. Title screen shown at v0.8.5; your current build may differ.
Terms you will see
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| FNF V-Slice | Community shorthand for the official Friday Night Funkin’ V-Slice milestone, meaning the 2024 engine rewrite rather than a separate game or mod |
| V-Slice | The same milestone, often used alone in devlogs and forum posts |
| Official base game | The current FunkinCrew/Funkin engine maintained on the main official release line |
| Legacy | Pre-2024 code, roughly the 0.2.x era, preserved in legacy/0.2.x on GitHub |
| Psych Engine / Kade Engine | Third-party community engines whose mods are not directly compatible with the official engine |
1. What “vertical slice” means here
In game development, a vertical slice is a small but fully playable cross-section of a game. It combines gameplay, UI, art, audio, and supporting systems at something close to final quality. It is not the entire game. It is proof that the production pipeline can deliver the intended player experience.
For The Funkin’ Crew, the V-Slice milestone was the point where the official game had to look and behave like the long-term commercial product they were building, while also proving the production pipeline from engine to content. Their Tha V-Slice devlog is the clearest source for that framing.
The community cake analogy
Community discussions often explain V-Slice with a layered-cake metaphor. It is useful for teaching, but it is not official terminology.
- A horizontal slice gives you only one layer, such as art or code by itself.
- A vertical slice gives you a complete cut through all layers, even if the slice is small.
Figure 2 - Author-made diagram. Teaching analogy only, not official Funkin’ terminology.
Why it was both a content and technical milestone
V-Slice was not just “new songs.” It combined visible content updates with structural engine work.
- Content: Weekend 1, the Freeplay DJ Menu, character selection, results screen, and the framework for later updates
- Technical: a ground-up rewrite meant to replace a base game that had become increasingly difficult to extend safely
2. Timeline: V-Slice is the present, not the future
A common misconception is that FNF V-Slice is a beta branch or a modded fork you still need to wait for. That is outdated. The official post-2024 release line is already the V-Slice era.
Milestone timeline
- February 10, 2023: The Funkin’ Crew published Tha V-Slice and explained the rewrite strategy.
- April 30, 2024: Weekend 1 shipped as
v0.3.0, bringing the overhauled engine into the main official line. - May 3, 2024:
v0.3.2followed with Polymod improvements such as ZIP mod support.
Figure 3 - Author-made diagram based on official blog posts and GitHub Releases.
Legacy branch vs current branch
The old source tree still exists on GitHub as legacy/0.2.x, but it is not the active target for official development. Every official update after v0.3.0, including later 0.4.x, 0.5.x, and 0.8.x builds, extends the same V-Slice foundation.
That means:
- current Itch.io and GitHub desktop builds are part of the V-Slice era
- official mobile releases are part of the same modern codebase
- “legacy” generally means pre-rewrite behavior and tooling
3. Visible differences players notice first
Several changes are obvious the first time you launch the modern official game.
| Feature | Legacy base game | Current official V-Slice base game |
|---|---|---|
| Freeplay menu | Simple vertical text list | DJ-style menu with album art, previews, and character selectors |
| Mod support | No native sandbox | Polymod-based mods/ loading |
| Input pipeline | Older HaxeFlixel path | Reworked input handling, later upgraded again in v0.8.4 |
| Scripting | Mostly hardcoded gameplay logic | HScript-based runtime scripting for official-engine mods |
Figure 4 - Adapted community comparison for UI reference. Current UI can vary by build.
References
Official sources
- Tha V-Slice - funkin.me blog (2023-02-10)
- Weekend 1 content update - funkin.me blog (2024-04-30)
- FunkinCrew/Funkin - GitHub Releases
- Legacy branch (
legacy/0.2.x) - GitHub