Starfield Mod Support Confirmed & Explained By Todd Howard

Todd Howard confirmed that Starfield will have full mod support like Bethesda’s previous games, as the developer attempts to maintain its long-standing relationship with its modding community. While Bethesda games like Skyrim and Fallout 4 are successful in their own right, the longevity of both titles can be at least partly attributed to the expansive modding community continuously adding new content. And though Starfield is still a year away, fans were wondering if Bethesda will continue supporting its modding community within its new IP.

It was recently revealed that Starfield will run on Bethesda’s Creation Engine 2, which has some fans wary. Developing a new IP is daunting enough, but having to do so inside a new engine adds a whole other layer of complexity. It was suggested that Bethesda developing Starfield in the Creation Engine 2 will open new doors for The Elder Scrolls 6 since Bethesda devs will learn from Starfield’s mistakes to make a better game. However, such a suggestion raises questions about Starfield’s potential success, and what its development in the Creation Engine 2 means for bugs, issues, and mod support. Thankfully, Todd Howard was able to put one of those questions to rest.

To celebrate Skyrim’s 10th anniversary, Todd Howard, the Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios, opened a Reddit forum under ToddBethesda where fans could ask him anything. Reddit user Wayyzzz took the opportunity to ask Todd Howard about mod support in Starfield, especially within the Creation Engine 2. Todd Howard confirmed that the plan is to “have full mod support like our previous games.” He noted that “our modding community has been with us for 20 years,” and claimed that Bethesda loves “what they do and hope to see more make a career out of it.”

See the AMA on Reddit here.

Todd Howard’s answer indicates that Bethesda could treat Starfield like its other IPs. Having supported mods for Skyrim and Fallout 4 (among others), it’s a good sign that Starfield will get similar mod support. Modders help prolong a game’s lifecycle, constantly adding new content after the developers have moved on to other projects. It’s possible that Bethesda will utilize its Creation Club for Starfield mods like it did for Skyrim and Fallout 4. The Creation Club is a freelance marketplace in which experienced modders can apply to become an official Creator for Bethesda games. Those Creators are subject to similar development cycles to Bethesda employees, and mod creation through the Creation Club receives additional support and polish compared to independent modding.

Skyrim is about to celebrate its 10th anniversary with yet another re-release of the game, and part of what makes the Skyrim: Anniversary Edition possible is the modding community. It’s unclear if Starfield will find the same level of popularity as The Elder Scrolls, but giving modders a chance to add post-launch content may help solidify it as another successful Bethesda IP.

Starfield will be available on Xbox Series X/S and PC on November 11, 2022

Source: ToddBethesda/Reddit

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Alden Etra
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Alden is a freelance gaming news writer for Screen Rant. He has a love for video games and tabletop board games, and is an avid fan of all things sci-fi/fantasy.

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