Guess who's back.
It's been a while since I posted in here. Life got in the way, as it does, but Rival Gaming never really left my head. I spent the last few months properly rebuilding the entire site from the ground up. Not just a new coat of paint — a full rethink of what a gaming community should actually be in 2026.
I wanted to build something that goes beyond just forums. Something where members actually have a reason to come back every day, not just when they've got a question to ask. So here's what we've put together.
What's changed since last time
Pretty much everything. The old light style is gone. We're running a full custom dark theme now — clean, flat, no unnecessary flashiness. Think more Steam/Discord than old-school forum.
The Dashboard
Every member gets a personal dashboard when they log in. It shows your XP, post count, account stats, daily login streak — all pulled live from the database. You can drag and rearrange the widgets however you want. It's more like an Xbox dashboard than a forum homepage.
Game Library — 72 titles and counting
We've built a full game library with cover art, genres, developer info, release dates, and community ratings. Every game links to its wiki page, trainer, and forum discussion. All the data is enriched from Steam and stored locally so it loads fast.
Trainer Hub — 57+ game trainers, free forever
This is probably what we're best known for. We build and maintain game trainers (cheat tables) for over 57 titles — Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3, GTA V, and plenty more. 956 cheats across 72 games with over 53 million downloads. All free, no paywall, no dodgy ads. The trainers auto-update weekly so they stay compatible with the latest game patches.
XP System and Leaderboards
Members earn XP for posting, creating threads, getting reactions, daily logins, using trainers, and more. Hit 2,500 XP and you auto-promote to Pro. Hit 7,500 and you're Ultimate. It's all automatic — no staff intervention needed. The leaderboard shows a proper podium with 1st/2nd/3rd place cards and you can filter by Overall XP, Games Played, Cheats Activated, Play Time, and more.
Style Studio
This one I'm quite proud of. It's a custom addon (not a page node) that lets members customise their appearance across the entire site. Avatar frames, username colours, post themes, badges, banners — all unlockable through the XP tier system. Staff get access to everything. Regular members unlock more as they level up. It renders sitewide, not just on the forums page.
Community Hub
Members can write and publish articles — game guides, reviews, trainer tips, news. Full editor with cover images, categories, tags, and a voting system. It's got moderation tools on the backend so nothing goes live without a check. Think of it as a mini blog platform built into the forum.
RG Coins Economy
We've got a virtual currency system. Members earn coins through forum activity and daily logins, then spend them in the Coin Shop on Style Studio items, custom titles, profile perks, and exclusive rewards. Transaction history, earn rates, top earners leaderboard — it's all there.
Seasonal Battle Pass
We run seasonal events with daily, weekly, and seasonal challenges. Complete them to earn points, climb tiers, and unlock rewards. Currently on Season 1: Rise of Rivals with 15 challenges and 10 tiers. Each season runs 30 days.
What else is in there
What makes it different
Most gaming forums are just... forums. You sign up, you post, maybe nobody replies, and you forget about it. We wanted to build something where there's always something to do. Check your XP. Complete a daily challenge. Claim your coins. Write a guide. Rate a game. Customise your profile. Climb the leaderboard. It's a gaming community with actual depth, not just a place to dump threads.
Everything runs on real data. No placeholder content, no mock APIs, no static dummy pages. Every number, every stat, every leaderboard position is pulled live from the database. If your XP says 825, that's your actual XP calculated from your real activity.
Custom dark theme, custom sidebar, custom footer, custom addons — but it still feels like XenForo underneath. That was important to me.
If you've got any feedback or questions, I'd genuinely love to hear them. This has been a proper labour of love and I'm happy to share how any of it works under the hood.
rivalgaming.com
It's been a while since I posted in here. Life got in the way, as it does, but Rival Gaming never really left my head. I spent the last few months properly rebuilding the entire site from the ground up. Not just a new coat of paint — a full rethink of what a gaming community should actually be in 2026.
I wanted to build something that goes beyond just forums. Something where members actually have a reason to come back every day, not just when they've got a question to ask. So here's what we've put together.
What's changed since last time
Pretty much everything. The old light style is gone. We're running a full custom dark theme now — clean, flat, no unnecessary flashiness. Think more Steam/Discord than old-school forum.
The Dashboard
Every member gets a personal dashboard when they log in. It shows your XP, post count, account stats, daily login streak — all pulled live from the database. You can drag and rearrange the widgets however you want. It's more like an Xbox dashboard than a forum homepage.
Game Library — 72 titles and counting
We've built a full game library with cover art, genres, developer info, release dates, and community ratings. Every game links to its wiki page, trainer, and forum discussion. All the data is enriched from Steam and stored locally so it loads fast.
Trainer Hub — 57+ game trainers, free forever
This is probably what we're best known for. We build and maintain game trainers (cheat tables) for over 57 titles — Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3, GTA V, and plenty more. 956 cheats across 72 games with over 53 million downloads. All free, no paywall, no dodgy ads. The trainers auto-update weekly so they stay compatible with the latest game patches.
XP System and Leaderboards
Members earn XP for posting, creating threads, getting reactions, daily logins, using trainers, and more. Hit 2,500 XP and you auto-promote to Pro. Hit 7,500 and you're Ultimate. It's all automatic — no staff intervention needed. The leaderboard shows a proper podium with 1st/2nd/3rd place cards and you can filter by Overall XP, Games Played, Cheats Activated, Play Time, and more.
Style Studio
This one I'm quite proud of. It's a custom addon (not a page node) that lets members customise their appearance across the entire site. Avatar frames, username colours, post themes, badges, banners — all unlockable through the XP tier system. Staff get access to everything. Regular members unlock more as they level up. It renders sitewide, not just on the forums page.
Community Hub
Members can write and publish articles — game guides, reviews, trainer tips, news. Full editor with cover images, categories, tags, and a voting system. It's got moderation tools on the backend so nothing goes live without a check. Think of it as a mini blog platform built into the forum.
RG Coins Economy
We've got a virtual currency system. Members earn coins through forum activity and daily logins, then spend them in the Coin Shop on Style Studio items, custom titles, profile perks, and exclusive rewards. Transaction history, earn rates, top earners leaderboard — it's all there.
Seasonal Battle Pass
We run seasonal events with daily, weekly, and seasonal challenges. Complete them to earn points, climb tiers, and unlock rewards. Currently on Season 1: Rise of Rivals with 15 challenges and 10 tiers. Each season runs 30 days.
What else is in there
- Steam integration — link your Steam account, pull your library, and get personalised game recommendations based on what you play
- Clan system — create or join a clan, compete in clan challenges
- Tournament brackets — organised competitive events with proper bracket tracking
- Trainer Builder — an interactive tool for members to help build new trainers
- Game Wiki — 72 pages of detailed game info with patch notes and guides
- Shareable gamer profile cards — a unique profile card page for each member
- Welcome guide for new members — walks them through the site on first login
- PWA support — installable as an app on mobile
- Full SEO setup — sitemap, OG tags, Twitter cards, structured meta on every page
- Weekly automated backups, uptime monitoring, and auto-recovery
What makes it different
Most gaming forums are just... forums. You sign up, you post, maybe nobody replies, and you forget about it. We wanted to build something where there's always something to do. Check your XP. Complete a daily challenge. Claim your coins. Write a guide. Rate a game. Customise your profile. Climb the leaderboard. It's a gaming community with actual depth, not just a place to dump threads.
Everything runs on real data. No placeholder content, no mock APIs, no static dummy pages. Every number, every stat, every leaderboard position is pulled live from the database. If your XP says 825, that's your actual XP calculated from your real activity.
Custom dark theme, custom sidebar, custom footer, custom addons — but it still feels like XenForo underneath. That was important to me.
If you've got any feedback or questions, I'd genuinely love to hear them. This has been a proper labour of love and I'm happy to share how any of it works under the hood.
rivalgaming.com
