5 reasons why Skyrim has the biggest modding scene today
On Nexusmods, Bethesda's Skyrim has over 100,000 mods and nearly 3.5 billion unique downloads cumulatively between its two editions.
Furthermore, the runner-up in terms of mod traffic is Fallout 4, which is yet to crack the one-billion unique downloads milestone. Similar statistics are found across most platforms that feature mods for Bethesda games, be it Mod DB or LoversLab.
There are many other franchises like Minecraft and Grand Theft Auto that are heavily modded, but none come close to the sheer volume and consistent growth of the Skyrim modding scene. This is a highly interesting phenomenon, not only because Minecraft and GTA have a much larger playerbase, but also because these are multiplayer games. This article will look into a few reasons why the modding scene of Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim scene is unmatched.
This article reflects the personal views of the author.
5 factors behind the incredible growth of Skyrim mods
1) Remarkable popularity
Skyrim is considered to be one of the biggest releases in the history of the RPG genre. The sheer volume of its world and content was unbeatable back in the day, and in terms of replay value, it remains one of the top contenders in its niche.
On top of all the vast improvements made, Todd Howard's recipe for success this time around involved a near-universal charm, meaning that it was unanimously well-received. In its first five years alone, before the re-release of the upgraded Special Edition, the game had already sold over 30 million copies worldwide.
Such a massive playerbase, especially on PC, gives nearly any game incredible potential for a solid modding community.
2) Community tools
However popular Bethesda's fifth installment in their esteemed Elder Scrolls series may have been, the modding scene would not have come to fruition in such an emphatic way, had it not been for the modding toolkit.
Bethesda's decision to make Creation Kit, the platform they themselves developed the game on, completely open to public usage was ideal for the playerbase. In fact, their terms of service even encouraged user-generated modifications with their proprietary tools, as long as they remained non-commercial.
Additionally, file-sharing platforms such as Nexusmods are rife with community-created tools and enhancements. Some of these, like the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE), have become popular enough to be essential additions to the game directory, complete with their own standalone hosting platforms.
3) The Elder Scrolls modding community from previous games
Elder Scrolls games, at least since Morrowind, have all had their developmental tools made available to the masses. The fact that the majority of this fanbase used to be on PC also helped it foster an entrenched modding community of its own.
As many Morrowind modders migrated to Oblivion back in 2006, a similar phenomenon also took place in 2011 with the release of Skyrim. With two games great at retaining their unique niche, the Elder Scrolls modding community had grown to a respectable level, even before Skyrim arrived.
4) The open-ended design principle
Newer games in the Elder Scrolls franchise completely did away with the static leveling system of Morrowind. Instead, the leveling remains player-centric to further encourage an experience completely focused on player freedom.
Even the marketing pitch of these games hinged on this freedom from the get-go. "See that mountain? You can climb it," stated Todd regarding the Bleak Falls Barrow in the official gameplay reveal.
This not only made Skyrim the ultimate synthesis of Bethesda's open-ended principle of difficulty and level design, but its accessibility also made it the gateway RPG for an entire generation of gamers.
5) Skyrim is a modding framework
With its casualized, player-friendly features that smoothly progress into the more in-depth complexity of the game system, this game has achieved what the previous four games in the Elder Scrolls series could not: drawing people from all walks of life, even non-gamers, into the complicated genre of RPGs.
Furthermore, many of these 'converted gamers' were professionals, already oriented towards game development. There is a good reason, after all, that this is the first Elder Scrolls game to become the platform for massive undertakings like Beyond Skyrim, Skyblivion, and Skywind.
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Atul S