It’s the home stretch before the release of the highly anticipated Starfield, and Bethesda is wasting no time in revealing all the information that could attract more players.
Without question, the longevity of a game like The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is not only based on its intrinsic quality, but also on the passion of its community. Of course, the initial game is full of positive points, but without the investment of modders, who transformed this RPG, this great adventure would probably never have seen the light of day. Aware of this issue, the production of Starfield obviously wishes to follow this path.
Starfield is inspired by the greats
Bethesda, lucid, recognizes how essential modding is to the sustainability of its games. As proof, 21 years later, Morrowind remains in vogue thanks to a multitude of graphic mods and content. Given the wait around Starfield, it would be inconceivable to deprive this space RPG of the benefits of modding. This is exactly what the American studio revealed during the Bethesda MainStream Special at Gamescom 2023. Pete Hines, Head of Publishing at Bethesda, confirmed in response to a question about female representation in Starfield that modders would have the ability to add new planets, quests, and even storylines to the action RPG.
There’s a lot more to come and when you start to think about the kind of community that’s forming around Bethesda Game Studios games and getting a tool like this into the hands of people who are wondering, “how would you like create a planet? It’s all going to be really amazing when you start to see your community participating and adding all the different things that they want to bring in. Their own stories that they want to tell...
This is, without a doubt, great news for future players. The question remains though: will this feature be restricted to PC gamers or will Xbox users also be able to enjoy modded creations?
Modding, a beautiful story
Modding, the practice of modifying and adding content to an existing video game, has a rich history. Games such as id Software’s Doom and Quake are among the pioneers to embrace modding, thanks to dedicated tools and a flexible architecture. Out of this openness came a slew of mods, some of which, like Team Fortress, spun off into indie games. Faced with such enthusiasm, other developers have followed suit, in turn offering dedicated tools. Flagship titles like Half-Life have surfed this wave, giving life to nuggets like Counter-Strike. And of course, Bethesda, with its essentials The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, was able to play a predominant role during this era. These games, designed with modding in mind, have seen their popularity grow exponentially thanks to fan contributions. It was unthinkable for the players that Starfield did not benefit from this dynamic. After all, modding is an essential way to extend the life of a game. Why deprive yourself of it?