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Starfield is coming! We know that well enough, and with just a few weeks to go before we embark on an all-new Bethesda Game Studios adventure, the question that poses itself is: what do older Bethesda games tell us about the future Bethesda games? More specifically, what do the games' respective modding communities lean most heavily into? Indeed, there's no way Starfield doesn't end up having a burgeoning modding scene, so we thought looking back at some key Fallout 4 mods might be a good way to scout ahead, as it were.
Indeed, those who've been around Bethesda Game Studios RPGs (e.g. Morrowind, Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, 4, New Vegas...) know that these are all built on the same core technology that's been getting heaps upon heaps of upgrades to the point of unrecognizability. From a modder's perspective, these are fairly similar platforms.
What this means, in practice, is that there are some fairly safe expectations we can already have about Starfield! Down below, we'll discuss these and, perhaps, help you build a fuller picture of what Starfield may or may not be, with a focus on Bethesda's classic game production pipeline.
READ MORE: Starfield on PC Will Be The Way to Go: Here's Why
How Fallout 4 Mods Play Into Starfield's Legacy
While we do enjoy Fallout 76 a fair bit for what it is, it's quite obvious from the get-go that the game's modding community has not panned out in a meaningful way. The reasoning behind that is, however, simple: it's a locked-down multiplayer title with live-service elements. No game developer wants people to actively mod a live-service title for reasons of balance-breaking activities and, yes, cheating.
Instead, our closest point of comparison for Starfield's modding scene is Fallout 4, specifically. Though Starfield did receive substantial engine upgrades compared to Fallout 4, the similarities are plainly obvious. To say nothing of the fact that much of the modding community will simply be jumping over to the new title. That's the relevancy we're looking at here.
Starfield Script Extender is Coming, 100%
The first thing to note here is that Xbox Series consoles will, indeed, support some number of mods for Starfield. While we cannot yet fully confirm whether this is how it's going to work, the odds are overwhelmingly high that Starfield, too, will have two kinds of mods when we get down to the nitty-gritty of it.
Specifically, there are the Bethesda-supported Creation Club mods that work across the board - on all platforms. These are your guns, your armour sets, your NPC companions, etc. They will work - and quite easily at that - on both Series S and Series X consoles and will be available basically from week one onwards. These are easy!
What's almost certainly going to remain available exclusively on PC are the Script Extender mods. Script Extender is an effectively universal meta-mod for all Bethesda Game Studios RPGs that upgrades their modding capabilities sky-high. Complete content revamps, gameplay system changes, core engine reverts... SE makes it happen. And make no mistake - Starfield's getting its own special version of it, no matter how much more advanced Creation Engine 2 may be.
The KISS Principle At Play
One of the things that plays into BGS RPGs' moddability is the question of the games' respective Creation Kit releases. Did you know, for example, that it took almost half a year for Fallout 4's Creation Kit to release? As the name obvious implies, the Creation Kit is the official content editor that allows modders to pull off remarkably complex things in relatively simple ways. Before that comes out, modders will inevitably be limited to relatively simple texture replaces and .ini edits.
This is where the KISS Principle comes into play: don't expect Starfield modders to be able to rework huge batches of content on day one. That is exceedingly unlikely to happen. Instead, expect simple and, perhaps, somewhat disappointing releases early on. Things are unlikely to truly heat up until a few months after Starfield comes out, so it may be good to expect a repeat of the Fallout 4 post-release Creation Kit plans, broadly speaking.
Guns and Armor, But What Else?
Now that we've got all the technical bits and expectations out of the way, it's time to talk shop! Just what on earth might modders end up adding to a game that has a whole galaxy's worth of content? Well, the simple truth is that Starfield may well end up being the most flexible Bethesda game yet.
Just take a quick gander at the biggest Fallout 4 mod repository on the Nexus Mods site. Starfield is making its way there too, and we fully anticipate a similar situation as to what's been going on with Fallout 4, for almost a decade at this point.
Some examples include:
- Massive, comprehensive community patching efforts
- Engine-level armour reworks
- Weather system upgrades
- Home-making kits
- Landscape improvement bundles
- Guns, guns, guns
And note, too, that we're barely scratching the surface here. Moreover, the fact that Starfield features a far higher breadth of content means there's practically no precedent on the sheer variety of content modders might end up working on. So, it's an exciting time we're in, for sure.
Excited Yet? We Are!
In summary, you should have a fairly solid idea of what the modding community and Starfield, more generally, might look like in the early days after it comes out. With just over eight weeks to go, it's a very exciting time to be a Bethesda Game Studios fan, and we cannot wait until the game finally drops.
Heck, if you, too, are excited about it, 2Game's got plenty of content to keep you busy and entertained in the interim. Not only is Fallout 4 a phenomenal game to play if you haven't done so yet, but you may also wish to pre-order Starfield in the first place! Further, check out some of our other articles:
- Why Starfield's 1,000 Planets Are Good News
- Should We Be Worried About Starfield's PC System Requirements?
- Starfield's Most Promising Feature: It's Not What You Think
- Best RPGs to Play While Waiting for Starfield to Come Out
Good stuff, right? Don't forget to stay tuned: lots more is coming over the next couple of weeks.
Get in the Game ! 
