diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index d029df0..dbbeb3d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -12,6 +12,39 @@ pulls notes from — it's the minimum, the GitHub release page is the maximum.
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+## [2.8.1] - 2026-05-29
+
+> [Full notes](https://github.com/Kitsune-Den/KitsuneCommand/releases/tag/v2.8.1)
+> · VIP tiers, join diagnostics, and the PackRelay Launcher land here.
+> Supersedes v2.8.0, which shipped without the Windows SkiaSharp native
+> (broken map rendering) and self-reported the wrong version.
+
+### Added
+
+- **VIP tiers.** Per-player tiers with a first-login welcome pack and
+  recurring tier gifts. New `012_vip_tiers` migration; set a player's
+  tier straight from the Players panel.
+- **Join diagnostics.** A companion `KitsuneJoinDiag` mod feeds a new
+  "Join Attempts" panel - see who tried to connect, when, and why a
+  join failed.
+- **PackRelay Launcher v0.1.** Scaffold that hooks the main menu
+  (`XUiC_MainMenu.OnOpen`) - groundwork for launching straight into a
+  PackRelay-published modpack.
+
+### Fixed
+
+- **Windows map rendering no longer breaks on a clean install.** The
+  release build sourced `libSkiaSharp.dll` only from version-pinned
+  NuGet-cache paths and skipped it with a warning when they weren't
+  there, so the v2.8.0 zip shipped without the Windows SkiaSharp native
+  and `MapTileRenderer` threw "Unable to load library 'libSkiaSharp'".
+  Both Skia natives now come from the committed `src/.../x64/` copies
+  (same as `sqlite3.dll`), and a missing native is a hard build error
+  instead of a silent skip.
+- **Mod version matches the release again.** `ModInfo.xml` was stuck at
+  2.7.4, so the in-game mod list disagreed with the release tag. Bumped
+  to track the release.
+
 ## [2.7.4] - 2026-05-27
 
 > [Full notes](https://github.com/Kitsune-Den/KitsuneCommand/releases/tag/v2.7.4)
diff --git a/src/KitsuneCommand/ModInfo.xml b/src/KitsuneCommand/ModInfo.xml
index c910cf7..a05010f 100644
--- a/src/KitsuneCommand/ModInfo.xml
+++ b/src/KitsuneCommand/ModInfo.xml
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 <xml>
     <Name value="KitsuneCommand" />
     <DisplayName value="KitsuneCommand - Server Management" />
-    <Version value="2.7.4" />
+    <Version value="2.8.1" />
     <Description value="Web-based server management panel and RESTful API for 7 Days to Die dedicated servers. Monitoring | Management | Map" />
     <Author value="AdaInTheLab" />
     <Website value="https://github.com/Kitsune-Den/KitsuneCommand" />
diff --git a/tools/build.ps1 b/tools/build.ps1
index d44945d..7a54605 100644
--- a/tools/build.ps1
+++ b/tools/build.ps1
@@ -63,8 +63,14 @@ if ($Platform -eq "windows" -or $Platform -eq "both") {
         Write-Warning "sqlite3.dll not found at $sqliteSrc. Download from https://sqlite.org/download.html"
     }
 
-    # libSkiaSharp.dll (Windows)
+    # libSkiaSharp.dll (Windows). Sourced from the committed src/<mod>/x64/ copy first
+    # (force-added to git, same as sqlite3.dll) so CI never depends on a NuGet-cache
+    # path that shifts with the SkiaSharp version. NuGet cache + bin kept as dev
+    # fallbacks. HARD FAIL if absent: shipping without it produces a Windows map
+    # renderer that throws "Unable to load library 'libSkiaSharp'" at runtime — a
+    # silent Write-Warning here let exactly that escape into the v2.8.0 release.
     $skiaWinPaths = @(
+        "src/$modName/x64/libSkiaSharp.dll",
         "$nugetCache/skiasharp.nativeassets.win32/3.116.1/runtimes/win-x64/native/libSkiaSharp.dll",
         "$nugetCache/skiasharp.nativeassets.win32/2.80.4/runtimes/win-x64/native/libSkiaSharp.dll",
         "$binDir/libSkiaSharp.dll"
@@ -74,9 +80,9 @@ if ($Platform -eq "windows" -or $Platform -eq "both") {
         $nativeDir = "$modDir/x64"
         New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $nativeDir -Force | Out-Null
         Copy-Item $skiaWin $nativeDir
-        Write-Host "    Copied libSkiaSharp.dll to x64/" -ForegroundColor Gray
+        Write-Host "    Copied libSkiaSharp.dll to x64/  (from $skiaWin)" -ForegroundColor Gray
     } else {
-        Write-Warning "libSkiaSharp.dll (Windows) not found"
+        throw "libSkiaSharp.dll (Windows native) not found. Expected the committed copy at src/$modName/x64/libSkiaSharp.dll. Without it the Windows map renderer will not load. Searched: $($skiaWinPaths -join '; ')"
     }
 
     # System.Runtime.InteropServices.RuntimeInformation is provided by RuntimeInfoShim.dll
@@ -99,8 +105,10 @@ if (Test-Path $dataAnnotations) {
 if ($Platform -eq "linux" -or $Platform -eq "both") {
     Write-Host "`n  [Linux native libraries]" -ForegroundColor Cyan
 
-    # libSkiaSharp.so (Linux, NoDependencies variant)
+    # libSkiaSharp.so (Linux, NoDependencies variant). Committed src/<mod>/x64/ copy
+    # first (same rationale as the Windows native), NuGet cache as dev fallback.
     $skiaLinuxPaths = @(
+        "src/$modName/x64/libSkiaSharp.so",
         "$nugetCache/skiasharp.nativeassets.linux.nodependencies/2.80.4/runtimes/linux-x64/native/libSkiaSharp.so",
         "$nugetCache/skiasharp.nativeassets.linux.nodependencies/2.80.2/runtimes/linux-x64/native/libSkiaSharp.so"
     )
@@ -112,9 +120,9 @@ if ($Platform -eq "linux" -or $Platform -eq "both") {
         $nativeDir = "$modDir/x64"
         New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $nativeDir -Force | Out-Null
         Copy-Item $skiaLinux $nativeDir
-        Write-Host "    Copied libSkiaSharp.so to x64/" -ForegroundColor Gray
+        Write-Host "    Copied libSkiaSharp.so to x64/  (from $skiaLinux)" -ForegroundColor Gray
     } else {
-        Write-Warning "libSkiaSharp.so (Linux) not found. Run 'dotnet restore' to download NuGet packages."
+        throw "libSkiaSharp.so (Linux native) not found. Expected the committed copy at src/$modName/x64/libSkiaSharp.so. Searched: $($skiaLinuxPaths -join '; ')"
     }
 
     # SQLite: no native library needed for Linux!