What is Gemma 4 31B StyleTune?
Gemma 4 31B StyleTune is a creative-writing and role-play variant of Google's Gemma 4 31B Instruct, released on 10 June 2026 by Gryphe, the finetuner behind MythoMax who also trains models for Latitude. A 26B-A4B mixture-of-experts version followed as StyleTune V2.
Instead of a full finetune, Gryphe retrained one tensor out of 834: the lm_head output projection, which picks the next token. All 60 transformer layers are frozen, so Gemma's reasoning, knowledge and instruction following are unchanged and only the word choice moves. The training data is narrative only, the same set Gryphe used for an earlier Pantheon release.
The weights are Apache 2.0. Gryphe runs it at temperature 1.0 with min_p 0.10 and the DRY sampler.
Is Gemma 4 31B StyleTune worth it?
Gemma 4 31B StyleTune solves the usual trade-off in role-play finetunes: they write better and think worse. By retraining only the output layer, Gryphe leaves every one of Gemma's 60 transformer layers untouched, so a character that needs to track a plot or follow a rule set behaves like stock Gemma 4 while sounding less like a chatbot.
Gryphe's own test on 200 role-play prompts against the base model found clichés fell by 60%, from 1.23 to 0.52 per 100 words, and only 21.7% of three-word phrases were shared with the base. Training one tensor is also cheap: Gryphe says it ran overnight on consumer hardware.
The catch: that test is the only evidence, it was run by the author on the author's data, and "cliché" is the author's own measure. No one has published an independent comparison. Adoption is modest: 104 likes on the main repository and 7,792 downloads last month for bartowski's GGUF. Gryphe also says it may only work this well on Gemma 4 31B. And a 31B dense model still needs a large GPU; the 26B-A4B version, which uses 3.8 billion parameters per token, is the lighter option.
Our take: if you already like Gemma 4 for role-play but tire of its phrasing, this is the smallest possible change and the easiest to justify; if you want a model that behaves differently, not just sounds different, a full finetune such as Equinox goes further.
Where it earns its place
A developer of a rules-heavy tabletop companion app
Keep game logic sound while making narration less formulaic
Swap Gemma 4 31B for StyleTune in the existing serving stack; since only lm_head changed, prompts and tool calls that worked before should behave the same, at the same GPU cost.
A fiction writer drafting on a workstation
Get first drafts that do not read like a chatbot
Run a GGUF quant locally with temperature 1.0, min_p 0.10 and DRY, as Gryphe suggests, and compare passages side by side with stock Gemma 4.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Download Gryphe/Gemma-4-31B-StyleTune or a community GGUF; Gemma 4's native chat template applies automatically.
- Integrations
- Any runtime that supports Gemma 4: llama.cpp, vLLM, Transformers, LM Studio.
- Data and privacy
- Runs locally under Apache 2.0; no data leaves your machine.
- Limits
- One author benchmark only; may not transfer to other base models; 31B dense memory needs.
What’s good
- Only the output layer changed, so Gemma 4's reasoning is intact
- Author measures 60% fewer clichés per 100 words
- Apache 2.0 weights
- Lighter 26B-A4B version available
What’s not
- Only evidence is the author's own test
- Changes style, not story behaviour
- 31B dense model needs a large GPU
- No hosted API
Best for
Gemma 4 users who want the same model with less stock phrasing in fiction and role-play.
Gemma 4 31B StyleTune alternatives
Gemma 4 31B StyleTune: common questions
- Is Gemma 4 31B StyleTune worth it?
- StyleTune is the cleverest role-play release of the year, a one-layer change that keeps Gemma's brain and swaps its voice, with only its author's numbers to vouch for it. We rate it 3.7 out of 5.
- How much does Gemma 4 31B StyleTune cost?
- Free weights under Apache 2.0; you pay for the GPU. No hosted API.
- What are the downsides of Gemma 4 31B StyleTune?
- Only evidence is the author's own test; changes style, not story behaviour; 31B dense model needs a large GPU; no hosted API.
- Who is Gemma 4 31B StyleTune best for?
- Gemma 4 users who want the same model with less stock phrasing in fiction and role-play.
- Is Gemma 4 31B StyleTune safe for company data?
- Runs locally under Apache 2.0; no data leaves your machine.
- What are the best Gemma 4 31B StyleTune alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are Gemma 4, Equinox 31B and Cydonia 24B v4.3.
Answers checked Nov 7, 2026.