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Skyrim modding refers to the community-made modifications for the 2011 fantasy role-playing video game The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. One of the most modded video games of all time, it has nearly 70,000 mod submissions on Nexus Mods and 28,000 in the Steam Workshop. Many of these mods were created for utility reasons, patching numerous bugs left in the game by Bethesda Softworks, while also improving the game's usability and character movement.^[1] Other mods add new quests and characters, or update the game's graphics and animations.^[2] As the vanilla game has a reputation for outdated mechanics, it is common for players to mod Skyrim even prior to their first playthrough.^[3]

Traditionally, Skyrim mods have been largely free to download. Valve Corporation walked back its attempts to add paid mods to Skyrim, following backlash from fans.^[4] These mods made their way to the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 with the release of Skyrim Special Edition.^[5] Fans were also able to create an unofficial modding scene for the Nintendo Switch.^[6]

Popular mods

Some of the most basic and commonly used mods are the Unofficial Skyrim Patches, which simply address "a huge amount of bugs the official patches don't". One exists for both the main game and the official High Resolution textures patch. SkyUI, which completely redesigns the game's menu screen to make it easier to use, as well as providing menu systems for other mods, is also a popular and highly recommended mod.^[1] Other "essential" mods include A Quality World Map, which makes the game's map screen higher-resolution or enables replacement with a paper map, and Realistic Humanoid Movement Speed, which adjusts the player's movement speed to make walking faster and running slower.^[1]

Multiple mods were introduced to address the game's Paarthurnax quest, in which the Dragonborn is forced to kill allied NPC dragon Paarthurnax by Delphine, Grandmaster of the Blades, causing controversy over the lack of a choice to spare him despite his prominent role in aiding the Dragonborn. The Paarthurnax Dilemma added the option to force Delphine to stand down, while the later Paarthurnax – Quest Expansion used existing lines to expand the quest and make it sensible from both the Blades' and Paarthurnax's point of view, as well as add the option to spare the dragon.^[7]^[8]

Many Skyrim mods add new content to the game. The Falskaar mod contains a DLC-length adventure with 26 new quests in a new continent, and was created as a job application; its creator was later hired by Bungie.^[9]^[10] The Beyond Skyrim: Bruma mod, released in July 2017, adds the county of Bruma from The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion and several new quests to the game.^[11]

Skyrim is noted to have an active adult modding scene centered around the website LoversLab, a 1.5 million member "massive sex mod community". Its owner, Ashal, created a mod template for the game known as SexLab that enabled the creation of adult-themed mods by providing a "foundation of thousands of animations and basic game functions".^[2] While largely within the bounds of typical erotica, the mods also include numerous kinks, such as BDSM, with some containing a meaningful story. Many of these modders remain anonymous, as "expressing sexuality in public or in the media beyond holding hands and kisses" remains largely taboo. The site's loose policies also allow controversial and disturbing content, although mods containing pedophilia are strictly banned.^[2]

Total conversions

Several projects have sought to construct new games using Skyrim as a base. Enderal, a sequel to the Oblivion mod Nehrim: At Fate's Edge was an early example of this. It contains a darker story than Skyrim, and was positively received by fans.^[12] The Forgotten City is a narrative focused adventure which originated as a mod in 2015, before being remade as a standalone title and changed to an Ancient Roman aesthetic. The final version of the game uses the Unreal Engine and was released for PC and Nintendo Switch in 2021.^[13]

Creations

In 2017, Bethesda announced the Creation Club, a storefront for Fallout 4 and Skyrim in which players paid for new content, some of which was created by fans who were compensated by Bethesda for their work. This was compared by some critics to "paid mods", although Bethesda did not characterize them as such to avoid backlash.^[14] Skyrim Anniversary Edition was released in November 2021, containing all 48 previously released Creation Club items as well as 26 new Creation Club items.^[15]

In December 2023, Bethesda replaced Creation Club with Creations, which added new paid and free mods.^[16]^[17]

Controversy

In 2015, Valve Corporation announced a paid mods feature for Steam, with particular emphasis being placed on Skyrim mods. This led to a "huge backlash", as well as a petition that gained more than 130,000 signatures. Parodic Skyrim mods were even created to protest the decision, such as "'Beth the Beggar,' a character that will sit around your game and ask for money 'for no reason'". A week later, Valve reversed the decision, stating that "stepping into an established, years old modding community in Skyrim was probably not the right place to start iterating".^[18]

Another controversy involving Skyrim mods occurred in 2021, in which Nexus Mods stated that they would no longer allow older mods to be removed from their website, following a 30-day grace period, in order to prevent problems with the Collections feature, which allows for batch downloading of mods. This caused a backlash due to modders losing control of their work, which led to many of them leaving Nexus Mods for other sites prior to the grace period ending.^[19] Arthmoor, one of the game's most popular modders, and the creator of Live another Life, Open Cities Skyrim, and The Paarthurnax Dilemma, moved to the site AFK Mods instead, arguing that a modder had a legal right to delete their content.^[20]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Livingston, Christopher; Hatfield, Tom; Papiz, Diana; Macgregor, Jody (August 12, 2019). "The best Skyrim mods". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ ^a ^b ^c Messner, Steven (May 8, 2017). "Inside the Skyrim sex modding community where almost no taboo is off limits". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ Franey, Joel (May 6, 2020). "Why Does Skyrim Feel So Strangely Old These Days?". USgamer. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ Campbell, Colin (April 27, 2015). "Facing extreme abuse, Skyrim modders defend paid work". Polygon. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ USgamer Team (July 25, 2017). "The Best Skyrim Mods". USgamer. Archived from the original on September 8, 2018. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
^ Wales, Matt (October 8, 2018). "Skyrim fans have started a Switch modding scene to do what Bethesda won't". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on November 9, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ Livingston, Christopher; Macgregor, Jody; Papiz, Diana; Morton, Lauren (August 17, 2022). "The best Skyrim mods". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 12, 2018. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ Talbot, Carrie (October 18, 2021). "This Skyrim mod is a fully voiced, expanded overhaul of the famous Paarthurnax quest". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on November 10, 2022. Retrieved November 7, 2022.
^ Tach, Dave (July 17, 2013). "19-year-old creates Skyrim mod as a job application". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ Campbell, Colin (November 26, 2013). "Skyrim modder lands dream job ... on Destiny". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ "Skyrim mod lets you cross the border, explore Oblivion's Bruma". VG247. July 1, 2017. Archived from the original on January 23, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
^ Delahunty-Light, Zoe (February 22, 2019). ""A better Skyrim than Skyrim. For free": Steam reviews are going nuts over this free mod for Skyrim that turns it into a completely new open world RPG". gamesradar. Archived from the original on December 29, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ "How a team of three created a narrative masterpiece in "The Forgotten City"". Archived from the original on November 28, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2023.
^ Avard, Alex (June 12, 2017). "What is Creation Club? Bethesda's new scheme is a store for premium mods (in all but name)". gamesradar. Archived from the original on May 31, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
^ Morton, Lauren (November 11, 2021). "So what is Skyrim Anniversary Edition and what's actually in it?". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on December 9, 2022. Retrieved December 1, 2021.
^ Carpenter, Nicole (December 7, 2023). "New Skyrim mod feature pulling the mod community apart". Polygon. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ Smith, Graham (December 5, 2023). "Skyrim's latest update brings back paid mods with an easier way for creators to sell their work". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on September 6, 2024. Retrieved December 28, 2023.
^ Moore, Bo (April 27, 2015). "Valve Nixes Paid Skyrim Mods After Huge Backlash". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Archived from the original on April 28, 2015. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^ Good, Owen S. (July 6, 2021). "Nexus Mods shoots for easier mod-making, but creators push back". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 16, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
^ Macgregor, Jody (August 6, 2021). "One of Skyrim's most popular modders is pulling his work from Nexus Mods". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on March 31, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2021.