View source for Video game modding

{{Short description|Fan-made modification of video games}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Video game industry}}'''Video game modding''' (from "modifying") is the process of player and fan-authored alteration of a [[video game]]<ref name=":33" /> and is a sub-discipline of general [[modding]]. A set of modifications, called a '''mod''', can either alter an existing game or add [[user-generated content]]. ''Modders,'' people who mod video games,<ref name="auto" /> can introduce a variety of changes to games, including altering graphics, fixing [[Software bug|bugs]], and adding unique gameplay elements. Mod development uses official or user-made [[software development kit]]s, distinguishing it from in-game creations.<ref name=":33" /> Modding a game can also be understood as the act of seeking and installing mods to the player's game.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Olson|first1=Cheryl K.|last2=Kutner|first2=Lawrence A.|last3=Warner|first3=Dorothy E.|last4=Almerigi|first4=Jason B.|last5=Baer|first5=Lee|last6=Nicholi|first6=Armand M.|last7=Beresin|first7=Eugene V.|title=Factors Correlated with Violent Video Game Use by Adolescent Boys and Girls|journal=[[Journal of Adolescent Health]]|date=July 2007|volume=41|issue=1|pages=77–83|doi=10.1016/j.jadohealth.2007.01.001|pmid=17577537}}</ref>

People can become fans of specific mods and can involve themselves in the process of mod development and discourse.<ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last=Sotamaa |first=Olli |date=2010-07-01 |title=When the Game Is Not Enough: Motivations and Practices Among Computer Game Modding Culture |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1555412009359765 |journal=Games and Culture |language=EN |volume=5 |issue=3 |pages=239–255 |doi=10.1177/1555412009359765 |issn=1555-4120|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In cases where modding is popular, players use the term ''[[Vanilla software|vanilla]]'' to describe the unmodified game (e.g. "Vanilla ''[[Minecraft]]''").<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gould |first=Elie |date=2025-01-09 |title=After 15 years, Minecraft has finally added two new pig variations: The warm pig and the cold pig, meaning I can delete one mod off my list |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/survival-crafting/after-15-years-minecraft-has-finally-added-two-new-pig-variations-the-warm-pig-and-the-cold-pig-meaning-i-can-delete-one-mod-off-my-list/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref>

Mods that extensively transform gameplay are known as total conversions, [[List of video games derived from mods|with some developing into distinct games]]. As early as the 1980s, video game mods have also been used for the sole purpose of creating art, as opposed to a playable game, leading to the rise of [[Video game art|artistic video game modification]], as well as [[machinima]] and the [[demoscene]].<ref name=":15">{{cite book |last1=Thiel |first1=Sarah-Kristin |title=Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Communities & Technologies - Transforming Communities |last2=Lyle |first2=Peter |date=3 June 2019 |isbn=978-1-4503-7162-9 |pages=198–209 |chapter=Malleable Games - A Literature Review on Communities of Game Modders |doi=10.1145/3328320.3328393 |chapter-url=https://pure.au.dk/ws/files/177771828/C_T19_IdentifyingGameModdingCommunities_cr.pdf |s2cid=150367691}}</ref>

With tens of thousands of mods created for popular games,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dey |first1=Tapajit |last2=Massengill |first2=Jacob Logan |last3=Mockus |first3=Audris |title=Proceedings of the 2016 Annual Symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in Play Companion Extended Abstracts |chapter=Analysis of Popularity of Game Mods |date=16 October 2016 |pages=133–139 |doi=10.1145/2968120.2987724 |isbn=978-1-4503-4458-6 |s2cid=12003615}}</ref> the proliferation of video game modding has made it an increasingly important factor in the success of many games.<ref name="auto3">{{cite journal |last1=Postigo |first1=Hector |date=October 2007 |title=Of Mods and Modders |journal=[[Games and Culture]] |volume=2 |issue=4 |pages=300–313 |doi=10.1177/1555412007307955 |s2cid=143727901}}</ref><ref name=":16" />  Modding extends the [[replay value]] and interest of the game.

==History==

=== ''Spacewar!'' (1962) and early endeavors ===
[[File:Spacewar!-PDP-1-20070512.jpg|thumb|alt=Spacewar on a round monitor on a desk|''[[Spacewar!]]'' on a [[PDP-1]]]]
A specific date of origin for video game modding has not been agreed upon by historians, partly due to discussion over what constitutes a mod and partly because of insufficient historical documentation.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":27" /> However, the very [[first computer game]]s already were being actively modified by the first generation of [[hacker]]s,<ref name=":27" /> and researchers have described modding as an evolution of the [[hacker culture]] which pioneered the [[video game industry]].<ref name="auto2">{{cite journal |last1=Coleman |first1=Sarah |last2=Dyer-Witheford |first2=Nick |date=2007 |title=Playing on the digital commons: collectivities, capital and contestation in videogame culture |journal=[[Media, Culture & Society]] |volume=29 |issue=6 |pages=934–953 |doi=10.1177/0163443707081700 |s2cid=154832086}}</ref>

Widely considered one of the first computer games,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Museum of the Moving Image - Exhibitions - Spacewar! Video Games Blast Off |url=http://www.movingimage.us/exhibitions/2012/12/15/detail/spacewar-video-games-blast-off/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618154623/http://www.movingimage.us/exhibitions/2012/12/15/detail/spacewar-video-games-blast-off/ |archive-date=2018-06-18 |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=www.movingimage.us |language=en}}</ref> the 1962 game ''[[Spacewar!]]'' was distributed freely as testing software for the [[PDP-1]], an early computer.<ref name=":2" /> The game was a result of hardware<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sotamaa |first=Olli |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136290510 |title=The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies |date=2014-01-03 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-29051-0 |editor-last=Wolf |editor-first=Mark J.P. |edition=1st |language=en |chapter=Artifact |doi=10.4324/9780203114261 |editor-last2=Perron |editor-first2=Bernard}}</ref> and software experimentation, supported by the programming culture<ref name="auto2" /> at the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT).<ref name="cc">{{cite magazine |last=Graetz |first=Martin |date=August 1981 |title=The origin of Spacewar |url=https://archive.org/details/creativecomputing-1981-08/page/n59/mode/2up |magazine=[[Creative Computing (magazine)|Creative Computing]] |pages=56–67 |volume=7 |issue=8 |issn=0097-8140}}</ref> On university campuses where the computer was installed, programmers continued to experiment with the game by modifying it heavily,<ref name=":2" /> allured by the prospect of fixing a "dire problem [...] as easily as changing a few instructions", as [[Steven Levy]] describes. Their efforts resulted in a wave of improvements to ''Spacewar!'', from changing aspects such as gameplay [[Game physics|physics]] to creating new [[Video game graphics|graphics]].<ref name=":24" />{{Rp|pages=52–54}} The final version of the game was ultimately a product of a group effort of hackers, who contributed to the game without pay.<ref name=":25">{{Cite book |last=Christiansen |first=Peter |title=Game mods: design, theory and criticism |date=2012 |publisher=ETC Press |isbn=978-1-300-54061-8 |editor-last=Champion |editor-first=Erik |location=Pittsburgh, PA |chapter=Between a Mod and a Hard Place}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=32}} In this way, ''Spacewar!'' was not only the first video game, but also the first video game to be modded.<ref name=":25" /> On the popularity of hacking ''Spacewar!,'' Levy reflected:<blockquote>Like any other program, it was placed in the drawer for anyone to access, look at, and rewrite as they saw fit. The group effort that stage by stage had improved the program could have stood for an argument for the [[Hacker ethic|Hacker Ethic]]: an urge to get inside the workings of the thing and make it better had led to measurable improvement. And of course it was all a huge amount of fun.<ref name=":24">{{Cite book |last=Levy |first=Steven |title=Hackers |date=May 2010 |publisher=[[O'Reilly Media]] |isbn=978-1-4493-8839-3 |edition=1st |location=Sebastopol, CA |pages=}}</ref>{{Reference page|pages=55-56}}</blockquote>Other early video games also released as iterations of collaborative improvements. ''[[Colossal Cave Adventure]]'', a [[text adventure game]] developed by [[Will Crowther]] and released in 1976, was greatly expanded upon by Stanford graduate [[Don Woods (programmer)|Don Woods]].<ref name=":26">{{Cite journal |last=Jerz |first=Dennis |date=2007 |title=Somewhere Nearby is Colossal Cave: Examining Will Crowther's Original "Adventure" in Code and in Kentucky |url=http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/2/000009/000009.html |journal=[[Alliance of Digital Humanities Organizations|Digital Humanities Quarterly]] |volume=1 |issue=2 |issn=1938-4122 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616070717/http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/001/2/000009/000009.html |archive-date=June 16, 2016}}</ref><ref name=":25" /> After receiving the source code to the game from Crowther, Woods increased the game's complexity and released a modified version in 1977<ref name=":26" /> to instant success.<ref name=":25" /> The desire to improve software—the "hacker ethic", as described by Levy—became a crucial factor to the emergence of modern modding culture.<ref name=":2" />{{Reference page|page=8}}

Before the development of affordable and more accessible [[personal computer]]s, the ability to mod games was restricted to where computers at the time were able to be installed, such as university campuses like MIT.<ref name=":27" /> With the advent of [[home computer]]s in the late 1970s to early 1980s, such as the [[Apple II]] and the [[Commodore 64]],<ref name=":2" /> video games were given a new space to flourish, accompanied by a new generation of modders.<ref name=":25" /> The subculture of "[[Software cracking|cracking]]" video games—hacking their source code—emerged as a niche endeavor among hobbyists.<ref name=":20" /> Cracks added gameplay [[Cheat (video games)|cheats]] or removed copyright structures, allowing games to be distributed freely.<ref name=":2" /> Using basic file editing software and a program that would [[Core dump|dump]] the contents of files, modders additionally scoured games for their assets through trial and error, with the goal of replacing them with their own levels and graphics.<ref name=":25" /> A famous example is ''Castle Smurfenstein'', a modification of the 1981 Apple II game ''[[Castle Wolfenstein]]''. Andrew Johnson and Preston Nevins, two high school students, replaced the game's [[Nazi]] characters with those from the popular 80's cartoon ''[[The Smurfs]]''. The game is often cited as a pioneering example of modding culture.<ref name=":25" /><ref name=":2" />{{Reference page|pages=|page=9}}

=== id Software, ''Doom'' (1993) ===
{{Further|Doom modding}}
As video games grew more sophisticated, hacking them became an increasingly cumbersome task, often requiring modders to effectively write over the original content.<ref name=":2" /><ref name="routledge chp31" /><ref name=":28">{{Cite book |last=Kushner |first=David |title=[[Masters of Doom: How Two Guys Created an Empire and Transformed Pop Culture]] |date=2004 |publisher=[[Random House]] |isbn=978-0-8129-7215-3 |series=Random House trade paperbacks |location=New York}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=95}} While modders created amateur game editing tools out of necessity, they were often [[Software bug|buggy]], inefficient, and incomplete, ultimately necessitating good programming skills for mod development. New assets were processed through multiple software [[Package format|packages]] in order to be modded into the game engine.<ref name=":25" />{{Reference page|page=100}} [[Scott Miller (entrepreneur)|Scott Miller]], founder of [[3D Realms]] (formerly Apogee Software), was fascinated by the levels and level editors fans created for Apogee's 1991 game [[Duke Nukem (video game)|''Duke Nukem'']], reflecting: "We just didn't expect players to take the time and effort to create their own development tools."<ref>{{cite web |title=Duke Nukem I (the original!) |url=https://legacy.3drealms.com/duke1/index.html |access-date=10 December 2023 |website=[[3D Realms]]}}</ref><ref name=":23" />

Modding continued with the release of ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'' in 1992, published by Apogee and developed by [[id Software]],<ref name="routledge chp31" /> who had bought the rights to ''Castle Wolfenstein''. Miller and his team at Apogee noted how modding helped extend the life of the game by providing free additional content for players.<ref name=":23" /> One such mod swapped the game's music with the theme song from the children's show ''[[Barney & Friends]]'' and replaced the final boss with Barney the Dinosaur. While some members of id were concerned about copyright infringement, id programmers and co-founders [[John Carmack]] and [[John Romero]] were delighted by the ''Barney'' mod.<ref name=":25" /><ref name=":28" /> Carmack was surprised by its sophistication compared to the Apple II cheats he had created for games such as the ''[[Ultima (series)|Ultima]]'' series in the 1980s.<ref name=":28" /> Intrigued, he made a conscious effort to facilitate custom content creation when designing the company's next game, [[Doom (1993 video game)|''Doom'']].<ref name=":2" />

Released in 1993, ''Doom'' was the first game to introduce modding to a wider audience due to the degree of depth it allowed its modders.<ref name="auto" /><ref name="routledge chp31">{{cite book |last=Voorhees |first=Gerald |url=https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781136290510 |title=The Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies |date=2014-01-03 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-136-29050-3 |editor-last=Perron |editor-first=Bernard |edition=1st |pages=251–258 |chapter=Shooting |doi=10.4324/9780203114261 |editor-last2=Wolf |editor-first2=Mark J.P.}}</ref> With ''Wolfenstein 3D'', players had to erase game code to replace it; this destructiveness concerned Carmack and Romero. When developing ''Doom'', Carmack purposely separated the [[game engine]] files from other assets, including [[Level (video games)|level]] architecture, graphics, and audio,<ref name=":2" /> which were stored in a "WAD" file (an acronym for "where's all the data?").<ref name=":28" />{{Reference page|page=134}} While the system was also motivated by the game industry's push towards realism that required larger storage, it was specifically intended to make modding easier.<ref name=":2" /> With ''Doom'', modders only needed to change which WAD file the game would reference,<ref name=":28" /> meaning that custom assets could be modified and distributed without sharing the game engine itself.

Nearing the official release of ''Doom'', Carmack sent emails to ''Wolfenstein'' modders, detailing the game's new modding capabilities. He also uploaded the [[source code]] for the game's [[level editing]] and utilities programs.<ref name="routledge chp31" /> Weeks after the release, hackers developed level and map-editing programs to modify existing ''Doom'' levels or make other minor adjustments.<ref name=":28" /> In 1994, the Doom Editor Utility was created by an international team of modders led by a student at the [[University of Canterbury]], greatly lowering the skill threshold required to make a mod and advertising the ability to create entirely new levels.<ref name=":29">{{Cite journal |last=Kücklich |first=Julian |date=2005-09-05 |title=Precarious playbour: Modders and the digital games industry |url=https://fibreculturejournal.org/fcj-025-precarious-playbour-modders-and-the-digital-games-industry/ |journal=Fibreculture |volume=5 |issue=1}}</ref><ref name=":28" /><ref name=":25" /> The DeHackEd from a [[University of Michigan]] student was released in the same year, which additionally allowed users to modify the [[executable file]] of the game.<ref name=":28" /> Later, in 1997, id published ''Doom'' as [[open source]], allowing a greater customization of mods with the source code available.<ref name=":29" /><ref name="routledge chp31" /> The open nature of ''Doom'' inspired a flood of creativity,<ref name=":25" /> with modding tools promising to "do almost anything to any level".<ref name=":28" /> Another factor in the popularity of [[Doom modding|''Doom'' modding]] was the increasing popularity of the Internet and the advent of the [[World Wide Web]], which allowed modding communities to form.<ref name="auto3" /><ref name=":2" /> Using online forums, modders were able to pool their knowledge and findings for the game.<ref name=":2" />

At a time when the video game industry guarded their [[intellectual property]] through copyrights and [[patent]]s, id Software's willingness to share details about their game's files was novel.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":25" /> Companies like Atari had sued modders in the past for [[copyright infringement]], including a pair of MIT students who had sold modded circuitry intended for the Atari arcade game ''[[Missile Command]]''.<ref name=":25" /> The release of the source code for ''Doom's'' editing software caused debate amongst the team at id, with Carmack's actions being supported by Romero.<ref name=":28" /> In exchange for the technical foundation for modding, id requested that mods should only work with the retail version of the game (and not the [[shareware]] version),<ref name="routledge chp31" /> benefiting the company commercially.<ref name=":23" /> Later [[first-person shooter]] developers, such as [[Valve Corporation|Valve]] and [[Epic Games|Epic]], consistently include level editing tools with their games, and it is common for [[Role-playing video game|role-playing]] and [[Strategy video game|strategy games]] to make a level editor available.<ref name="routledge chp31" />

By encouraging player-driven content, id created channels for entry into the video game industry for ''Doom's'' modding community. ''[[Final Doom]]'', released by id in 1996, integrated fan-made levels, with a share of the profits going to the modders involved.<ref name=":23" /> In 1995, id hired [[Tim Willits]] as the first employee from the ''Doom'' modding community, who later became studio director of id's parent company [[ZeniMax Media]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=2019-07-18 |title=Tim Willits is leaving id Software |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/tim-willits-is-leaving-id-software/ |access-date=2025-08-25 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":28" />

=== Valve, ''Half-Life'' (1998), Steam ===
{{Expand section|date=August 2025}}
After the success of ''Doom'', id software would release their future games as [[open source]].<ref name=":23" /> Mods for id's ''[[Quake (video game)|Quake]]'', such as "Capture the Flag" and "Team Fortress", became standard gamemodes in later games in the shooter genre.<ref name="auto" /> In addition to [[first-person shooter]]s, which are popular games to mod,<ref name=":2" /> the [[Virtual pet#Software-based|virtual pet genre]], with games such as ''[[Petz]]'' and ''[[Creatures (video game series)|Creatures]]'', fosters younger modders, particularly girls.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Denton |first1=Abby |date=12 January 2018 |title=Artificial life finds a way: the legacy of Creatures |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2018/01/12/creatures-fans-mods-artificial-life/ |access-date=27 November 2018 |work=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]]}}</ref>

Valve used WorldCraft, a fan-produced tool for ''Quake'', to design ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]].<ref name="auto3" />'' In addition to its [[Single-player video game|single-player]] campaign, ''Half-Life'' included the rudimentary [[Multiplayer video game|multiplayer]] modes [[Deathmatch (video games)|deathmatch]] and team deathmatch,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Laukkanen |first=Tero |url=https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/65431 |title=Modding Scenes - Introduction to user-created content in computer gaming |date=2005 |publisher=University of Tampere: Hypermedia Laboratory Net Series |isbn=978-951-44-6448-5 |series=9 |language=en}}</ref> a game mode created by John Romero for ''Doom''.{{Sfn|Kushner|2004|pp=148-153}} The multiplayer mods ''[[Day of Defeat]]'' and [[Counter-Strike (video game)|''Counter-Strike'']] became popular, and eventually Valve acquired them, giving them an official release.{{Sfn|Laukkanen|2005|p=19}}

With the increase in popularity of the modding scene, video game companies began to capitalize on the appeal of creating [[user-generated content]]. By the mid-1990s, PC games were commonly bundled with modding tools, external software which allows users to create mods for their paired games.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Burger-Helmchen |first1=Thierry |last2=Cohendet |first2=Patrick |date=October 2011 |title=User Communities and Social Software in the Video Game Industry |url=https://hal.science/hal-02302912 |journal=Long Range Planning |volume=44 |issue=5–6 |pages=317–343 |doi=10.1016/j.lrp.2011.09.003}}</ref><ref name=":15" /> Games that launched with these tools were noteworthy in review<ref name="auto2" /> and often contributed to their commercial success; in 2003, eight of the top 10 selling PC video games were bundled with modding tools.<ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=Moshirnia |first1=Andrew V. |last2=Walker |first2=Anthony C. |series=DiGRA Digital Library |date=2007-01-01 |title=Reciprocal Innovation in Modding Communities as a means of Increasing Cultural Diversity and Historical Accuracy in Video Games |url=https://dl.digra.org/index.php/dl/article/view/291 |journal=Proceedings of DiGRA 2007 Conference: Situated Play |language=en |doi=10.26503/dl.v2007i1.291}}</ref>

[[Steam (service)|Steam]], a video game digital distribution service created by [[Valve Corporation]], was specifically designed for the proliferation of successful, stand-alone mods.<ref name=":23">{{Cite web |last=Au |first=Wagner James |date=2002-04-16 |title=Triumph of the mod |url=https://www.salon.com/2002/04/16/modding/?utm_source=website&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=ogshare&utm_content=og |access-date=2025-08-22 |website=Salon.com |language=en-US}}</ref> The platform offered a US$995 licensing fee plus [[Royalty payment|royalty]] for modders to distribute their games.<ref name="auto3" /> With a beta release in 2002,<ref name="steam-announced">{{cite web |date=March 22, 2002 |title=GDC 2002: Valve unveils Steam |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gdc-2002-valve-unveils-steam/1100-2857298/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717003347/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/gdc-2002-valve-unveils-steam/1100-2857298/ |archive-date=July 17, 2014 |access-date=September 7, 2006 |work=[[GameSpot]].com}}</ref> Steam included a retail-version of ''[[Day of Defeat]]'', originally a [[Video game modding#Total conversion|total conversion]] mod for Valve's ''Half-Life'' whose rights were purchased by the company.<ref name=":23" /><ref name="GameSpot Valve & Activision">{{cite web |author=GameSpot staff |date=April 4, 2003 |title=Valve signs with Activision, exclusive Day of Defeat screens |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-signs-with-activision-exclusive-day-of-defeat-screens/1100-6024608/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225235043/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/valve-signs-with-activision-exclusive-day-of-defeat-screens/1100-6024608/ |archive-date=February 25, 2014 |access-date=February 25, 2014 |work=GameSpot}}</ref> [[Gabe Newell]], the founder of Valve, noted that his perception of video games shifted from viewing them as entertainment to embracing them as "productivity platforms".<ref>{{cite web |last=Boudreau |first=Ian |date=March 29, 2020 |title=Gabe Newell tried gold farming in World of Warcraft to test a theory about games |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/world-of-warcraft/gaben-gold-farming |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329144743/https://www.pcgamesn.com/world-of-warcraft/gaben-gold-farming |archive-date=March 29, 2020 |access-date=March 29, 2020 |work=[[PCGamesN]]}}</ref> Since then, the client has become one of the largest online marketplaces for games. The platform introduced full support for finding and playing mods for Valve's ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'',<ref name=":19" /> a game that itself originated as a mod for [[Quake (video game)|''Quake'']].<ref name="gamespot 1998-06-01">{{Cite web |last=Dunkin, Alan |date=June 1, 1998 |title=''Team Fortress'' Full Speed Ahead |url=http://www.gamespot.com/articles/team-fortress-full-speed-ahead/1100-2463316/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140323205856/http://www.gamespot.com/articles/team-fortress-full-speed-ahead/1100-2463316/ |archive-date=March 23, 2014 |access-date=June 12, 2006 |work=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> The [[Steam Workshop]], introduced to the platform in 2012, allows players to mod Steam-hosted games directly within the interface.<ref name=":19">{{Cite journal |last=Rosen |first=Zvi S. |date=December 6, 2018 |title=Man, Mod, and Law: Revisiting The Law of Computer Game Modifications |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3309904 |url-status=live |journal=IDEA: The IP Law Review |language=en |volume=59 |issue=1 |ssrn=3309904 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319204545/https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3309904 |archive-date=2025-03-19 |access-date=2025-08-01 |via=SSRN}}</ref>

=== Paid mods on Steam ===
In April 2015, Valve introduced paid mods to the [[Steam Workshop]] as an update to the free system already in place. Mod authors received a cut of the profits from mods sold through Steam, with the percentage being determined individually by game developers. The first game to utilize the feature was Bethesda's ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]],''<ref>{{cite web |last=Kamen |first=Matt |date=24 April 2015 |title=Skyrim is first game to allow paid game mods on Steam |url=https://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-04/24/steam-workshop-paid-mods |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505192753/http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2015-04/24/steam-workshop-paid-mods |archive-date=5 May 2015 |access-date=May 4, 2015 |work=[[Wired.com]]}}</ref> with mod authors receiving 25 percent of profit from their sales while the remainder was split between Valve and Bethesda.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Machkovech |first=Sam |date=2015-04-23 |title=Steam Workshop lets users sell mods, but only shares 25 percent of revenue |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/04/steam-workshop-lets-users-sell-mods-but-only-shares-25-percent-of-revenue/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Ars Technica |language=en}}</ref> [[Gabe Newell]], the head of Valve, expressed that paid mods would "increase the investment in quality modding", while not infringing on the need for freely distributed mods.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=2015-04-27 |title=Gabe Newell addresses controversy over paid Steam mods |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2015/04/gabe-newell-addresses-controversy-over-paid-steam-mods/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Ars Technica |language=en}}</ref> The Workshop update resulted in backlash from the modding community, with complaints including having to pay for previously free mods;<ref name=":19" /> overpriced mods; content that had been published without its creator's consent; and concerns over mods that contained third-party copyrighted content (i.e., material that neither Valve nor the mod creator owned).<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Mark |date=2024-10-30 |title=Nexus Mods updates its stance on paid mods for the first time since Bethesda's latest attempt at them, says it believes "modding should be a pursuit of passion first and foremost" |url=https://www.vg247.com/nexus-mods-updates-policy-on-paid-mods-post-verified-creators |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=VG247 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":6">{{Cite news |last=Stanton |first=Rich |date=2024-10-30 |title=World's biggest modding site announces new paid mods policies, with caveats—'as long as it isn't to the detriment of the free modding ecosystem' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/worlds-biggest-modding-site-announces-new-paid-mods-policies-with-caveats-as-long-as-it-isnt-to-the-detriment-of-the-free-modding-ecosystem/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":7">{{Cite magazine |last=Moore |first=Bo |title=Valve Nixes Paid Skyrim Mods After Huge Backlash |url=https://www.wired.com/2015/04/steam-skyrim-paid-mods/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220041408/https://www.wired.com/2015/04/steam-skyrim-paid-mods/ |archive-date=December 20, 2016 |access-date=2025-07-27 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> Paid mod authors were also the target of backlash, with some receiving death threats and harassing comments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hillier |first=Brenna |date=2015-04-28 |title=Paid mods creator received "death threats, attacks and hateful comments" |url=https://www.vg247.com/paid-mods-creator-received-death-threats-steam-workshop-skyrim |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=VG247 |language=en}}</ref> A [[Change.org]] petition was launched to remove the feature, garnering over 130,000 signatures.<ref name=":7" /> A week after the feature's announcement, Valve discontinued it entirely and agreed to refund those who purchased mods through the system.<ref>{{cite web |last=Prescott |first=Shaun |date=April 27, 2015 |title=Valve has removed paid mods functionality from Steam Workshop |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/valve-has-removed-paid-mods-functionality-from-steam-workshop/ |access-date=May 4, 2015 |work=[[PC Gamer]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=April 28, 2015 |title=Removing Payment Feature From Skyrim Workshop |url=http://steamcommunity.com/games/SteamWorkshop/announcements/detail/208632365253244218 |access-date=May 4, 2015 |work=[[Steam (service)|Steam]]}}</ref> The removal itself was criticized by mod developers.<ref>{{cite web |last=Grayson |first=Nathan |date=April 28, 2015 |title=Some People Are Pissed That Skyrim's Paid Mods Are Gone |url=http://steamed.kotaku.com/some-people-are-pissed-that-skyrims-paid-mods-are-gone-1700837400 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181029183110/https://steamed.kotaku.com/some-people-are-pissed-that-skyrims-paid-mods-are-gone-1700837400 |archive-date=2018-10-29 |access-date=May 4, 2015 |work=[[Kotaku]]}}</ref>

==Development==
Developing a video game mod requires a range of technical and social skills, such as [[video game programming|programming]], [[3D modeling]], [[sound design]], art, and [[project management]].<ref name="auto3" /><ref name=":9">{{Cite web |last=Antonelli |first=William |title=It's easier than ever to turn video game modding into a career |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-modding-patreon-creators-hobby-into-career-2025-7 |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> Modders represent a wide spectrum of individuals with varying degrees of experience, skill sets, motivations,<ref name="auto" /> and specializations, often working in teams.<ref name=":30">{{Cite book |last=Hawranke |first=Thomas |title=Playful participatory practices: theoretical and methodological reflections |date=2020 |publisher=Springer VS |isbn=978-3-658-28618-7 |editor-last=Abend |editor-first=Pablo |series=Perspektiven der Game Studies |location=Wiesbaden, Germany |chapter=Intrinsic Research—a Practice-Based Approach to Computer Game Modding |editor-last2=Beil |editor-first2=Benjamin |editor-last3=Ossa |editor-first3=Vanessa}}</ref> Using community feedback and [[Software bug|bug]] reports, mod authors release a median of two updates to their mods, often back-to-back, according to an empirical study of mods hosted on the website [[Nexus Mods]]. A majority of mods on the platform are released over 300 days after a game's release, indicating that mod developers are either long-time players or have developed a renewed interest in a game.<ref name=":34">{{Cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=Daniel |last2=Lin |first2=Dayi |last3=Bezemer |first3=Cor-Paul |last4=Hassan |first4=Ahmed E. |date=2020-07-01 |title=Building the perfect game – an empirical study of game modifications |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/s10664-019-09783-w |journal=Empirical Software Engineering |language=en |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=2485–2518 |doi=10.1007/s10664-019-09783-w |arxiv=2103.07528 |issn=1573-7616}}</ref>

[[Video game console]]s remain largely proprietary and are equipped with strict security measures and a closed infrastructure that prohibits modding. In some cases, the console versions of games, such as ''[[Fallout 4]]'', allow modding through in-game menus, subject to approval.<ref name=":19" /><ref name=":31" /> In 2016, [[Sony]] began a limited program to allow mods for the [[PlayStation 4]] version of ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]''.<ref name=":19" /> These mods are often subject to size limitations and prohibit the use of external assets.<ref name=":31" />

===Tools===
Mod development involves the use of external [[software development kit]]s (SDK) that are not included in the original game, distinguishing mods from in-game creations such as character creation in ''[[The Sims]]'' or levels designed in [[Lemmings (video game)|''Lemmings'']].<ref name=":15" /> Early commercial mod-making tools include the ''[[Boulder Dash Construction Kit]]'', released in 1986,<ref name="scorpia199202">{{cite magazine |author=Scorpia |date=February 1992 |title=Scorpion's Tale |url=http://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/index.php?year=1992&pub=2&id=91 |accessdate=24 November 2013 |magazine=Computer Gaming World |pages=38}}</ref> and ''[[The Bard's Tale Construction Set]]'', released in 1991, which allow users to create games using the engines of their predecessors.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Teverbaugh |first=Rick |date=March 1988 |title=Rick's Games Cafe |url=https://archive.org/details/1988-03-anticmagazine/page/50/mode/2up |access-date=August 29, 2025 |magazine=[[Antic (magazine)|Antic]] |page=52 |volume=6 |issue=11}}</ref> In 1983, ''[[Lode Runner]]'' was released with a [[level editor]] in which users could make and save levels to share with other players on the same computer. It is considered one of the first games to support user mods.<ref name="routledge chp31" /> Released in 1993, ''[[Forgotten Realms: Unlimited Adventures]]'' allows users to construct games based on the ''[[Pool of Radiance]]'' game world''.<ref name="rauschIII">{{cite web |last=Rausch |first=Allen |date=2004-08-17 |title=A History of ''D&D'' Video Games - Part III |url=http://pc.gamespy.com/articles/539/539722p1.html |access-date=November 17, 2012 |publisher=Game Spy}}</ref>''

The provision of tools is seen as the most practical way that a company can signal to fans that its game is available to mod.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Poretski |first1=Lev |title=Proceedings of the 2017 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing |last2=Arazy |first2=Ofer |date=25 February 2017 |publisher=ACM |isbn=978-1-4503-4335-0 |pages=480–491 |chapter=Placing Value on Community Co-creations: A Study of a Video Game 'Modding' Community |doi=10.1145/2998181.2998301 |s2cid=18600910}}</ref> As of 2020, 9 out of 10 of the most modded games on Nexus Mods have an official modding tool from the game developer.<ref name=":34" /> Many tools use the lightweight scripting language [[Lua]], facilitating a simple and accessible medium to create mods.<ref name=":20">{{Cite journal |last=Wells |first=Matthew |date=2018-06-20 |editor-last=Chan |editor-first=Leslie |editor2-last=Mounier |editor2-first=Pierre |title=Game not Over: End-User Programming and Game System Modding as Models for Extending Community Engagement |url=https://hal.science/hal-01816719 |journal=Elpub 2018 |location=Toronto, Canada |publisher=ElPub |volume=Connecting the Knowledge Commons: From Projects to Sustainable Infrastructure |doi=10.4000/proceedings.elpub.2018.21}}</ref> These tools are often similar to the ones used by the game developer.<ref name=":35" /> [[Maxis]] released modding tools for ''[[The Sims]]'' before the game itself, resulting in a suite of fan-created mods available at launch.<ref name=":2">{{cite book |last=Lukkanen |first=Tero |url=https://tampub.uta.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/65431/951-44-6448-6.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |title=Modding scenes: Introduction to user-created content in computer gaming |publisher=[[University of Tampere]] |year=2005 |series=Hypermedia Laboratory Net Series |volume=9 |place=Tampere |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128211333/https://tampub.uta.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/65431/951-44-6448-6.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |archive-date=28 November 2018}}</ref> The advertising campaign for ''[[Neverwinter Nights (2002 video game)|Neverwinter Nights]]'' focused on the included Aurora toolset.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Warcraft III World Editor|''World Editor'']] for ''[[Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos|Warcraft III]]'' allowed a variety of custom scenarios or maps to be created for the game, such as a number of [[tower defense]] and [[multiplayer online battle arena|multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA)]] maps, including ''[[Defense of the Ancients]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Walbridge|first=Michael|title=Analysis: Defense of the Ancients - An Underground Revolution|url=https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/109814/Analysis_Defense_of_the_Ancients__An_Underground_Revolution.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120510135818/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/109814/Analysis_Defense_of_the_Ancients__An_Underground_Revolution.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 10, 2012|access-date=2020-09-07|website=www.gamasutra.com|date=12 June 2008|language=en}}</ref>''<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |date=26 March 2018 |title=How Warcraft 3's modding community paved the way for League of Legends and Dota 2 |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/warcraft-iii/warcraft-3-mods-dota-league-of-legends |access-date=2020-09-06 |website=PCGamesN |language=en-GB}}</ref>'' Bethesda Game Studios offers the [[Creation Kit]], a program containing user-tailored modding tools used to create mods for their games, including ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Cobbett |first=Richard |date=2012-03-12 |title=Skyrim: The Creation Kit Experience |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/skyrim-the-creation-kit-experience |access-date=2025-07-30 |work=Eurogamer.net |language=en}}</ref>

Modders also create and use [[open-source software]] tools for creating mods.<ref name="auto4">{{cite book |last1=Scacchi |first1=Walt |series=IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology |title=Open Source Systems: Grounding Research |chapter=Modding as an Open Source Approach to Extending Computer Game Systems |volume=365 |date=2011 |pages=62–74 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-24418-6_5 |language=en|isbn=978-3-642-24417-9|s2cid=8934352 }}</ref> With games where modding is unsanctioned, these user-developed tools are the only resources available to develop mods. Examples include tools written to view 3D-geometry and programs used to import this data into 3D-applications, such as [[Maya (software)|Maya]] or [[Autodesk 3ds Max]]. Because game developers [[Encryption|encrypt]] their game's files, unsanctioned modding requires [[reverse engineering]] the structure of the game through extracting and decrypting files. This process is facilitated through the sharing of game files on modding forums, such as the XeNTaX community which produced modded versions of ''[[Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain]]'' starting in 2015.<ref name=":30" /> [[Generative AI]] has been used,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lumb |first1=David |title=Generative AI Is Coming for Video Games. Here's How It Could Change Gaming |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/generative-ai-is-coming-for-video-games-heres-how-it-could-change-gaming/ |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=[[CNET]] |date=4 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> particularly for assets such as textures and voice acting, which can present a barrier to entry for amateur mod teams. Voice actors have raised [[Ethics of artificial intelligence|ethical concerns]] over their voices being cloned without their consent, and they have denounced pornographic mods using their cloned voices.<ref name="Stokes">{{Cite web |last=Stokes |first=Ian |date=2021-04-20 |title=Witcher 3 mod uses AI to create new voice lines without Geralt's original voice actor |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/witcher-3-mod-uses-ai-to-create-new-voice-lines-without-geralts-original-voice-actor/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=gamesradar |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Donovan |first=Imogen |date=2023-07-07 |title=Video game voice actors denounce NSFW mods using AI deepfakes of their voices |url=https://www.nme.com/news/video-game-voice-actors-denounce-nsfw-mods-ai-deepfakes-voices-3466276 |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Dinsdale">{{Cite web |last=Dinsdale |first=Ryan |date=2023-12-22 |title=The Witcher Voice Actor Doug Cockle Calls AI 'Inevitable' but 'Dangerous' |url=https://za.ign.com/the-witcher-3/188055/news/the-witcher-voice-actor-doug-cockle-calls-ai-inevitable-but-dangerous |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=IGN Africa |language=en-za}}</ref>

Websites for hosting and sharing mods are widely used by the modding community. [[Mod DB]] was founded in 2002, with over 300 million mod downloads as of 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Will |date=2021-10-11 |title=Changing the game: an interview with Scott Reismanis - the founder of ModDB |url=https://www.nme.com/features/mods-are-still-a-pillar-of-gaming-after-decades-an-interview-with-the-founder-of-moddb-3062921 |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.moddb.com/about |access-date=July 26, 2025 |website=Mod DB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Downloads |url=https://www.moddb.com/downloads |access-date=July 26, 2025 |publisher=Mod DB}}</ref> Since its inception in 2001, [[Nexus Mods]] has become one of the largest modding websites; as of 2024, the website has over 47 million members and hosts a total of 539,682 mod files, developed by 128,361 mod authors. The website accrued a lifetime total of 10 billion mod downloads for 2,683 games the same year.<ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Wolens |first=Joshua |date=2024-02-08 |title=The world's biggest mod site pops the cork on 10 billion downloads and $7 million-worth of payouts: 'If every download were a footstep, you could walk to the Moon 11 times' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/the-worlds-biggest-mod-site-pops-the-cork-on-10-billion-downloads-and-dollar7-million-worth-of-payouts-if-every-download-were-a-footstep-you-could-walk-to-the-moon-11-times/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Charlie |date=2020-10-01 |title=Nexus Mods bans political content in the lead-up to the November election |url=https://www.polygon.com/2020/10/1/21497735/nexus-mods-bans-political-content-us-election |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref> Other websites are dedicated to the modding scenes of specific games. Large mod teams often host their own websites to showcase the development of their mods. These websites feature detailed database and advanced search functionality that allow users to easily find mods for their games, becoming social centers for modders and their shared knowledge.<ref name=":27" /> Additionally, video-hosting websites, blogs, and official game discussion forums provide channels for users to discuss and discover mods.<ref name=":21">{{Cite journal |last1=Hofman-Kohlmeyer |first1=Magdalena |date=2021-03-15 |title=Brand-Related User-Generated Content in Simulation Video Games: Qualitative Research Among Polish Players |url=https://journals.kozminski.edu.pl/pub/5922 |journal=Central European Management Journal |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages=61–87 |doi=10.7206/cemj.2658-0845.41}}</ref>

Free content delivery tools, known as "mod managers", are available to streamline the mod installation process and aid players who are less technically literate. These tools manage downloads, updates, and mod installation. Steam offers the [[Steam Workshop]] within the game launcher itself, allowing a users to share mods for simplified download and installation in supported games.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |last1=Letzter |first1=Rafi |title=Online communities are changing video games to make them better, weirder, and much more wonderful |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-modding-2015-7?r=US&IR=T |access-date=22 February 2019 |work=Business Insider Australia |date=21 July 2015 |language=en |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222152029/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/video-game-modding-2015-7?r=US&IR=T }}</ref> Vortex, a mod manager released by Nexus Mods, is an external tool that supports modding over 65 games and is designed to work with the website.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vortex |url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1?tab=description |access-date=July 26, 2025 |website=Nexus Mods }}</ref> Game developers also create official mod managers either alongside their games, such as the Paradox Launcher for games created by [[Paradox Interactive]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2018-03-15 |title=Paradox Interactive Launches Modding Platform For Xbox One And PC |url=https://gameinformer.com/2019/02/20/paradox-interactive-launches-modding-platform-for-xbox-one-and-pc |access-date=2025-08-03 |magazine=Game Informer |language=en}}</ref> or within the games themselves, such as in ''[[Baldur's Gate 3]]'' as a part of an update in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lorich |first=Megan |date=2024-12-21 |title=Baldur's Gate 3 is Living Proof That More Games Need Official Mod Managers |url=https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-mod-manager-support-official-player-content-good-why/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Game Rant |language=en}}</ref>

===Game support===
A game that allows modding is said to be ''moddable'', and the extent to which a game can be modded is called its ''moddability''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Litchfield |first=Ted |date=2025-02-18 |title=Blockchain-based space survival MMO EVE Frontier has a free trial running, with CCP hoping you'll take a chance on its 20,000 star systems, more tactical combat, and 'dark sci-fi Pinocchio story' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/mmo/blockchain-based-space-survival-mmo-eve-frontier-has-a-free-trial-running-with-ccp-hoping-youll-take-a-chance-on-its-20-000-star-systems-more-tactical-combat-and-dark-sci-fi-pinocchio-story/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref> In general, moddable games will define gameplay variables in text or other non proprietary format files and have graphics of a standard format, such as [[bitmap]]s.<ref name="Sihvonen2011p37">{{cite book |last1=Sihvonen |first1=Tania |title=Players Unleashed!: Modding The Sims and the Culture of Gaming |date=2011 |publisher=[[Amsterdam University Press]] |isbn=978-90-8964-201-1 |location=Amsterdam |pages=37–86 |chapter=Cultural and Commercial Appropriation |jstor=j.ctt46mt37.5}}</ref> Developers can also foster mod-friendliness by making source files more accessible, such as ''Doom'' separating its art assets from the main program.<ref name=":2" /> Released in 2007, ''[[Supreme Commander (video game)|Supreme Commander]]'' was developed with the goal of being the as customisable as possible through mods.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mason |first=Graeme |date=2018-01-07 |title=The making of Supreme Commander |url=https://www.eurogamer.net/the-making-of-supreme-commander |access-date=2025-07-30 |website=Eurogamer.net |language=en}}</ref> Some mods increase moddability by adding scripting support or externalizing underlying code. In 2025, mod authors released a script extender for ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered]]'', which has no official mod support, within less than six hours after the game's release.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=2025-04-22 |title=Oblivion Remastered doesn't officially support mods, but the mods are rolling in anyway |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/oblivion-remastered-doesnt-officially-support-mods-but-the-mods-are-rolling-in-anyway/ |access-date=2025-07-30 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref>

Video game developer reception of player contribution in creating new material for games and mod-communities is varied. Some software companies openly accept and even encourage such communities, with moddability being a contributing factor to the some games' success. Others have chosen to enclose their games in heavily policed copyright or Intellectual Property regimes (IPR) and shut down sites infringing on their ownership of a game.<ref>Flew, Terry and Humphreys, Sal (2005) "Games: Technology, Industry, Culture" in Terry Flew, New Media: an introduction (second edition), Oxford University Press, South Melbourne 101-114.</ref>

== Motivations ==
While a few modders have a pre-existing desire to create modifications for the games they play, most modders start modding more or less accidentally, utilizing their prior interests like drawing, [[architecture]], and programming.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laukkanen |first=Tero |date=2007 |title=Creative gamers: Examining the modding culture and its mobile prospects |url=http://pong.hiit.fi/dcc/papers/mc2_final_report.pdf |journal=Mobile Content Communities |publication-place=Helsinki |issue=1 |pages=137–153 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250111083020/http://pong.hiit.fi/dcc/papers/mc2_final_report.pdf |archive-date=2025-01-11 |via=HIIT Publications}}</ref> Their motivations for creating mods vary and often changes over time.{{Sfn|Sotamaa|2010|p=246}} Motivations can range from a general interest in their favorite game and the desire to modify it, to personal interests like artistic self-expression and technical challenges, as well as wanting to participate in a modding community.{{Sfn|Sotamaa|2010|p=246}}{{Sfn|Laukkanen|2007|p=149}} While a modder may be motivated by a combination of factors,{{Sfn|Sotamaa|2010|p=245}} there is typically one primary motivator.{{Sfn|Laukkanen|2007|p=149}}

Modding can serve as a pathway to entering the [[video game industry]], with mod makers often featuring mod projects in their portfolios when applying for jobs in the industry.{{Sfn|Sotamaa|2010|p=251-253}} Modding tools provide the opportunity to acquire or refine [[information technology]] expertise for novices with prospects of eventually working in the games industry or related fields.<ref name=":17">{{Cite journal |last=Hayes |first=Elisabeth |date=2008-08-01 |title=Game content creation and it proficiency: An exploratory study |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131507000292 |journal=Computers & Education |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=97–108 |doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2007.04.002 |issn=0360-1315 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref name=":16" /> Alternatively, becoming a professional may be unimportant to modders due to their strong sense of community,<ref name=":33" /> instead opting to keep the skill simply as a hobby.<ref name=":16" /> Researcher Hector Postigo identifies the [[hacker ethic]] as a contributor to the blurring between amateur and professional game development, where programming skill grants prestige in hacker communities.<ref name="auto3" />

=== Game customization ===
[[File:CJ, Kratos and Snow White in Guitar Hero.png|thumb|220px|right|The modded character models of [[Kratos (God of War)|Kratos]], [[Carl Johnson (Grand Theft Auto)|Carl Johnson]] and [[Snow White (Disney character)|Snow White]] in ''[[Guitar Hero World Tour]].'' An example of modding acting as remix culture.]]One of the primary motivations for modding is the ability to directly alter or expand a game the modder personally enjoys playing.{{Sfn|Laukkanen|2007|p=149}}

The proliferation of mod culture exemplifies the overlap between media consumption and production.<ref name=":16" /> Modding is viewed as a way to increase enjoyment of the game through personalization, such as the inclusion of popular or national culture of personal significance.<ref name="auto3" /> With the provision of modding tools by the developer or other modders, players are granted agency to contribute to their entertainment experience.<ref name=":15" /> Modding is akin to other user-made practices in video game consumption, including [[speedrunning]] and [[machinima]]—all of which appropriate the original game and transform it into something new, exemplifying the flexibility of the video game space.<ref name=":30" /> However, modding can also stem from a dissatisfaction with the base game's limitations on customization.<ref name=":21" />

Beyond expanding or transforming gameplay, many modders are motivated by a pursuit of realism. This may involve recreating recognizable real-world elements, such as landmarks, vehicles, and consumer brands. Real-life locations are often added to extend the map of [[Simulation video game|simulation games]], such as the addition of Polish settlements and landmarks in ''[[Euro Truck Simulator 2]]''. In other games like as ''Euro Truck Simulator'' and ''[[Second Life]]'', mods accurately reproduce brands and real-life products, while others invent fictitious brands that share similarities to real ones, such as 'McDowel' restaurant mods for ''Second Life'', which imitate [[McDonald's]].<ref name=":21" /> [[First-person shooter]]s may have mods that replace weapon sounds with custom ones recorded by modders.<ref name="auto3" /> Other mods intend to address historical accuracy. Mods for ''[[Civilization IV]]'' altered the game's historical flags to be more accurate, offering multiple variations to reflect their change over time. For flags with little historical documentation, modders debated over the culture's use of colors and iconography.<ref name=":32" />

=== Self-expression ===
Modding can be an outlet for artistic and political expression.<ref name=":16" /> Players can express their belief systems, personal preferences, or political opinions through modding, incorporating these cultural elements in a recreation of themselves.<ref name=":32" /> For example, flag mods for ''[[Civilization IV]]'' allow players to express their interests outside the historical scope of the game. Another mod introduced a [[Chechens|Chechen]] faction when the developer grew sympathetic to the group in [[Chechen–Russian conflict|their conflict with Russia]].<ref name=":32" /> Mods can be a tool to create diversity and recreate body images from real life.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sihvonen |first=Tanja |title=Players unleashed! modding the Sims and the culture of gaming |date=2011 |publisher=Amsterdam University Press |isbn=978-90-8964-201-1 |series=Mediamatters |location=Amsterdam |chapter=Extending the game}}</ref> For players who identify as [[LGBTQ people|LGBTQ]], motivations for modding can stem from a lack of representation in a game and its modding community.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Welch |first=Tom |date=December 2018 |title=The Affectively Necessary Labour of Queer Mods |url=https://gamestudies.org/1803/articles/welch |journal=Game Studies |volume=18 |issue=3 |issn=1604-7982}}</ref> Options for homosexual romance and character genders are made available through "queer mods". Examples include the "Equal Love Mod" for ''[[Dragon Age: Origins]]'' and a similar mod for [[Mass Effect (video game)|''Mass Effect'']], which enable romance with characters normally unavailable for their protagonist's gender. Researcher Evan Lauteria theorized that queer mods can be an act of "resistance" against the limitations on sexual normativity enacted by the game, such as compulsory heterosexuality.<ref name="Lauteria">{{cite journal |last1=Lauteria |first1=Evan W |date=2015 |title=Ga(y)mer Theory: Queer Modding as Resistance |url=http://reconstruction.digitalodu.com/Issues/122/Lauteria_Evan.shtml |journal=Reconstruction |volume=12 |issue=2}}</ref>

Likewise, programmers may be motivated by the innate challenge of hacking a game as a "complex code-based system,"{{Sfn|Somataa|2010|p=245}} often creating mod tools for other mod makers.{{Sfn|Laukkanen|2007|p=149}}

=== Sense of community ===
Modder communities are made up of people with diverse interests, from military and social history to technological expertise. Combined, these skills add to the richness of mods.<ref name="auto3" /> Taking part in online discussions on modding forums is a cause of community feeling among modders.<ref name=":33">{{Cite journal |last=Poor |first=Nathaniel |date=2014-12-01 |title=Computer game modders' motivations and sense of community: A mixed-methods approach |url=https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444813504266 |journal=New Media & Society |language=EN |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=1249–1267 |doi=10.1177/1461444813504266 |issn=1461-4448}}</ref>

Modding has been described as a part of [[remix culture]]<ref name="auto62">{{cite journal |last1=Scacchi |first1=Walt |date=3 May 2010 |title=Computer game mods, modders, modding, and the mod scene |journal=First Monday |volume=15 |issue=5 |doi=10.5210/fm.v15i5.2965 |doi-access=free}}</ref> and as a successor to the [[hacker culture]] that produced the first video games.<ref name="auto2" /> It has been correlated with the introduction of [[Web 2.0]], which encourages collaboration and participation via the Internet through the production and alteration of [[user-generated content]]. The sense of community,<ref name="auto3" /> feedback, recognition, and sources of inspiration fostered through online, collaborative discussions are various motivators that influence the development and sharing of mods.<ref name=":15" /> This sense of community can transcend alienation and help challenge the stigma that gaming is "antisocial, isolating, or creatively stifling".{{Sfn|Sotamaa|2010|p=246}}

== Impact ==
The game industry's support of modding has been crucial to the rise of the modding phenomenon.<ref name=":16" /> In contrast to the [[Music industry|music]] and [[Film industry|film]] industries, which discourage unauthorized modification and adaptation of their mediums through copyright law, many video game companies encourage modding of their games for creative inspiration, commercial success,<ref name=":23" /> and as a marketing strategy.<ref name=":2" /> Although concerns have been raised about the exploitation of modders as a source of "free labor", most modders view their work as a fun, "labor of love" for themselves and the community, rather than for the company.<ref name=":33" />

Modding can extend the shelf life of games, leading to increased revenue for their developers and publishers.<ref name=":15" /> [[Valve Corporation|Valve]] attributed the long-lasting success of ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'', whose sales figures increased over the first three years of its release, to popular mods for the game.<ref name=":12">{{cite web |last1=Hyman |first1=Paul |title=Video game companies encourage 'modders' |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000484956 |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080506004712/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000484956 |archive-date=May 6, 2008 |date=April 9, 2004}}</ref> Beginning in 1999, the company held an annual mod expo showcasing new games built using [[GoldSrc]], the ''Half-Life'' engine, including ''[[Gunman Chronicles]]'' and ''[[Counter-Strike (video game)|Counter Strike]]'' which both later released as stand-alone titles.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Walker |first1=Trey |date=17 May 2006 |title=Half-Life Mod Expo mods announced |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/half-life-mod-expo-mods-announced/1100-2875097/ |access-date=27 November 2018 |work=[[GameSpot]]}}</ref> In early 2012, the ''[[DayZ (mod)|DayZ]]'' mod for ''ARMA 2'' was released, causing a massive increase in sales for the three-year-old game and putting it in the top spot for online game sales for a number of months.<ref name="CinemaBlend_1Jul12">{{cite news|url=http://www.cinemablend.com/games/DayZ-Helps-Arma-2-Rack-Up-More-Than-300-000-Sales-44161.html|title=DayZ Helps Arma 2 Rack Up More Than 300,000 In Sales|publisher=Cinema Blend|last=Usher |first=William|date=1 July 2012|access-date=2012-07-03}}</ref> As of 2020, the top three games by [[esports]] prize pools all originated as mods: ''[[Dota 2]]'' (US$174 million), ''[[Counter-Strike: Global Offensive]]'' (US$69M), and ''[[League of Legends]]'' (US$64M).<ref name=":15" />

Creative collaboration through game modding communities is an influential medium. User-developed mods can test new approaches for video game development, offloading time and cost from the developer who may then adopt mod changes and additions for official releases.<ref name=":15" /> The [[multiplayer online battle arena]] (MOBA) video game genre was developed and popularized from mods of Blizzard's [[StarCraft (video game)|''StarCraft'']] and [[Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos|''Warcraft III'']]. With ''League of Legends'' host to over 35 million players in 2012, the MOBA has since become one of the most successful genres of video games.<ref name=":35">{{Cite journal |last=Wallace |first=Ryan |date=2014-01-27 |title=Modding: Amateur Authorship and How the Video Game Industry is Actually Getting It Right |url=https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/lawreview/vol2014/iss1/7 |journal=BYU Law Review |volume=2014 |issue=1 |pages=219–255 |issn=2162-8572}}</ref> The developer of the ''[[Civilization (series)|Civilization]]'' series, [[Firaxis]] has included user mods, "Double Your Pleasure", throughout expansion packs for the franchise.<ref>{{cite web |last=Chick |first=Tom |date=2002-10-25 |title=Civilization III: Play the World |url=http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-games/civilization-iii-play-the/4505-9696_7-30742336.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322204343/http://reviews.cnet.com/pc-games/civilization-iii-play-the/4505-9696_7-30742336.html |archive-date=2012-03-22 |access-date=2 October 2017 |website=CNET}}</ref> Series developer [[Sid Meier]], who had previously opposed mods in the franchise, later said that "the strength of the modding community is [...] the very reason the series survived".<ref name="jahromi20210922">{{Cite magazine |last=Jahromi |first=Neima |date=2021-09-22 |title=Sid Meier and the Meaning of "Civilization" |url=https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/sid-meier-and-the-meaning-of-civilization |magazine=The New Yorker |language=en-US |access-date=2021-09-23}}</ref> Valve hired ''Defense of the Ancients'' lead designer [[IceFrog]] for the development of the stand-alone, official sequel.<ref>{{cite web |last=Biessener |first=Adam |date=October 13, 2010 |title=Valve's New Game Announced, Detailed: Dota 2 |url=https://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/10/13/dota-2-announced-details.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120819120623/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/10/13/dota-2-announced-details.aspx |archive-date=August 19, 2012 |access-date=October 14, 2019 |publisher=[[Game Informer]]}}</ref>

The introduction of real-life brands through video game mods can result in positive brand reception, increased further through discussions on modding forums and video hosting websites.<ref name=":21" />

== Issues ==

===Legal status===
{{see also|Copyright and video games}}
[[Copyright]] law relating to video games and mods is an evolving legal issue. Uncertainty revolves around which party is legally the copyright owner of the mods—the company that produced the game, the creators of the individual mods, or the player that installed the mods.<ref name="auto1">{{cite journal |last1=Kow |first1=Yong Ming |last2=Nardi |first2=Bonnie |title=Who owns the mods? |journal=First Monday |date=3 May 2010 |volume=15 |issue=5 |doi=10.5210/fm.v15i5.2971 |language=en |doi-access= free}}</ref> Under current law, mods are viewed as [[derivative work]]s, as they are based upon or incorporate part of the original game<ref name=":35" /> and are developed by a third-party without a [[license]].<ref name=":37">{{cite journal |last1=Lee |first1=C. A. |date=30 December 2022 |title=Video game modding in the U.S. intellectual property law: Controversial issues and gaps |journal=Digital Law Journal |volume=3 |issue=4 |pages=8–31 |doi=10.38044/2686-9136-2022-3-4-8-31 |s2cid=255586687 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

In [[U.S. copyright law]], different statutes cover various aspects of video games, such as graphics, audio, and source code. Most pertinent is the [[Copyright Act of 1976]] ({{UnitedStatesCode|17|102}}), which protects "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works", "sound recordings", and "literary works", among others.<ref name=":37" /> In past cases, mods have been viewed as derivative works not classifiable under [[fair use]], and they are violations of the copyright holder's consent if developed without permission.<ref name=":35" /> Additional, the mechanisms of how the modder accesses video game source code may violate the US [[Digital Millennium Copyright Act]], through circumvention of technological measures intended to prevent the game from being copied. Mods are "presumptively illegal" when they breach a game's [[end-user license agreement]] (EULA) and [[terms of service]] (TOS), as is prohibited under the [[Computer Fraud and Abuse Act]].<ref name="auto8">{{cite journal |last1=Kretzschmar |first1=Mark |last2=Stanfill |first2=Mel |date=17 July 2018 |title=Mods as Lightning Rods |journal=[[Social & Legal Studies]] |page=096466391878722 |doi=10.1177/0964663918787221 |s2cid=149824659}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Deng |first1=Zhaoxia |last2=Li |first2=Yahong |date=November 2021 |title=Players' rights to game mods: Towards a more balanced copyright regime |url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0267364921001072 |journal=Computer Law & Security Review |language=en |volume=43 |article-number=105634 |doi=10.1016/j.clsr.2021.105634}}</ref>

Despite the lack of legal protection, modding continues to thrive due to encouragement from video game developers, who make moddable games.<ref name=":35" /> The companies' willingness to allow modification of their property is typically outlined in the game's legal contracts, including its EULA and TOS.<ref name=":37" /> Companies that wish to encourage modding often include terms that grant them ownership over any [[user-generated content]] (UGC) created for their games.<ref name=":36">{{Cite book |last=Lee |first=Yin Harn |title=Research handbook on intellectual property and digital technologies |date=January 7, 2020 |publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing |isbn=978-1-78536-834-9 |editor-last=Aplin |editor-first=Tanya |series=Research handbooks in intellectual property series |location=Northampton, Massachusetts |chapter=Chapter 3: Copyright and gaming}}</ref> An example is [[Electronic Arts]] (EA), who qualifies modding for their games, such as ''[[The Sims 4]]'', according to their EULA from 2022:<blockquote>When you contribute UGC, you grant to EA […] sublicensable license to use, host, store, reproduce, modify, create derivative works, publicly perform, publicly display or otherwise transmit and communicate the UGC […]<ref name=":37" /></blockquote>Other companies discourage modding through aggressive litigation in addition to strict legal contracts. In the 1998 case ''[[Micro Star v. FormGen Inc.]]'', the courts granted [[FormGen]], the publisher of ''[[Duke Nukem 3D]]'', a [[preliminary injunction]] against Micro Star, who packaged user-made level mods for the game and sold it as ''Nuke It''. FormGen had stipulated in its license for the game that player-made levels must be offered for free.<ref name=":37" /> Modding poses a threat to artistic control that may lead game companies to pursue litigation against mod developers.<ref name=":35" /> In 2009, [[Square Enix]] sent a [[cease and desist]] letter to mod developers that used art from a [[ROM file]] of their game ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', threatening "up to $150,000 damages per work".<ref name=":35" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cavalli |first=Earnest |date=2009-05-11 |title=Square Enix Kills Near Complete Chrono Trigger Fan Project {{!}} GameLife {{!}} Wired.com |url=https://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/05/square-enix-kills-near-complete-chrono-trigger-fan-project/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100325090019/https://www.wired.com/gamelife/2009/05/square-enix-kills-near-complete-chrono-trigger-fan-project/ |archive-date=2010-03-25 |access-date=2025-08-30 |website=www.wired.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Additionally, companies may take legal action against mods for multiplayer games which could impact fairness.<ref name=":35" /> Square Enix sent another cease and desist in 2025 to a developer whose mod allowed other players to view each other's modded characters in the online game ''[[Final Fantasy XIV]]''. Officially, mods are against the TOS of the game, with game producer [[Naoki Yoshida]] arguing that such mods "negatively impact the core game, its services, [and] intended game design".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Valentine |first=Rebekah |date=2025-08-28 |title=Final Fantasy 14's Yoshi-P Weighs in on Mods After Popular Custom Character Sharing Mod Shuts Down |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/final-fantasy-14s-yoshi-p-weighs-in-on-mods-after-popular-custom-character-sharing-mod-shuts-down |access-date=2025-08-31 |website=IGN |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Randall |first=Harvey |date=2025-08-28 |title=In the wake of shutting down a highly popular mod, Final Fantasy 14 director Yoshi-P shares deeply earnest blog about 'mods, their use, and the culture surrounding them' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/final-fantasy/in-the-wake-of-shutting-down-a-highly-popular-mod-final-fantasy-14-director-yoshi-p-shares-deeply-earnest-blog-about-mods-their-use-and-the-culture-surrounding-them/ |access-date=2025-08-31 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref>

Another concern is the use of copyrighted material owned by another company, such as a mod for ''Quake'' themed around [[Aliens vs. Predator|''Alien vs. Predator'']] which was legally contested by 20th Century Fox.<ref name="auto2" /> At least one modder received legal action from [[Mattel]] for the unauthorised use of the character [[Thomas the Tank Engine]] in a ''[[The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim]]'' mod.<ref name="Hernandez">{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Patricia |date=2019-05-15 |title=Thomas the Tank engine mod got Skyrim player in legal trouble |url=https://www.polygon.com/2019/5/15/18625132/skyrim-mod-thomas-the-tank-engine-fallout-nexus-mattel |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240712035801/https://www.polygon.com/2019/5/15/18625132/skyrim-mod-thomas-the-tank-engine-fallout-nexus-mattel |archive-date=2024-07-12 |access-date=2024-07-26 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref> Some modders regard the use of copyrighted material in mods to be part of a "[[moral economy]]",<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Postigo|first1=H.|title=Video Game Appropriation through Modifications: Attitudes Concerning Intellectual Property among Modders and Fans|journal=[[Convergence (journal)|Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies]]|date=1 February 2008|volume=14|issue=1|pages=59–74|doi=10.1177/1354856507084419|s2cid=154247452}}</ref> often settling on a system of shared ownership, where mods and code are freely shared with the common good in mind.<ref name="auto1" /> "Moral ownership" over games they play leads modders to appropriate proprietary material and ignore copyright altogether.<ref name=":15" /> It has been argued that total conversion mods may be covered in the United States under the concept of fair use.<ref name=":18">{{Cite journal |date=January 2012 |title=SPARE THE MOD: IN SUPPORT OF TOTAL-CONVERSION MODIFIED VIDEO GAMES |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40064316 |journal=Harvard Law Review |volume=125 |issue=3 |pages=789–810 |access-date=July 30, 2025 |via=JSTOR}}</ref> Modding can be compared to the [[open-source-software movement]] and [[open-source video game]] development.<ref name="auto4" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/brief-overview-of-the-differences-and-similarities-between-open-source-software-development-and-co-creation-in-digital-games-|title=Brief overview of the differences and similarities between open source software development and co-creation in digital games|first=Jedrzej|last=Czarnota|website=[[Gamasutra]]|date=2013-08-07|access-date=2023-03-11}}</ref> In 2006, ''[[Second Life]]'' generated interest from its focus of user-generated content (mods) and how [[intellectual property]] rights to this content remained with the creator. ''Second Life'' players are able to sell these items in an in-game market.<ref>{{cite book |last1=van der Graaf |first1=Shenja |title=ComMODify |chapter=Designing for Mod Development |pages=1–2 |date=2018 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, Cham |isbn=978-3-319-61499-1 |language=en-gb|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-61500-4}}</ref>

Literature on user-generated content in video games in the context of [[Uk copyright law|UK]] and [[European copyright law]] is limited. Scholarship mostly concerns the liabilities of intermediaries who provide this content rather than creators themselves.<ref name=":36" />

The U.K. [[National Crime Agency]] reported that modding can act as a pathway to cybercrime.<ref>{{cite web |author=National Crime Agency |year=2017 |title=Pathways Into Cyber Crime |url=https://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/who-we-are/publications/6-pathways-into-cyber-crime-1/file}}</ref> In 2015, members from GTAForums, a ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' fan site, reported instances of malware being circulated through mods written for ''Grand Theft Auto V''.<ref name="Seppala">{{cite web |last=Seppala |first=Timothy |date=15 May 2015 |title=A few 'GTA V' mods are installing malware on PCs |url=https://www.engadget.com/2015/05/15/gtav-pc-mods-malware/ |access-date=16 May 2015 |work=[[Engadget]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Rad |first=Chloi |date=2015-05-14 |title=Grand Theft Auto 5 Mods 'Angry Planes' and 'NoClip' Infected With Virus |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2015/05/14/grand-theft-auto-5-mods-angry-planes-and-noclip-infected-with-virus |access-date=2023-11-17 |website=[[IGN]] |language=en}}</ref> Two of the mods in question, "Angry Planes" and "No Clip", came with malicious code for loading a [[Remote administration software|remote access tool]] and a keylogger for stealing [[Facebook]] and Steam account credentials.<ref name="Chalk">{{cite web |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=14 May 2015 |title=GTA 5 mods Angry Planes and No Clip contain malware |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/gta-5-mods-angry-planes-and-no-clip-contain-malware/ |access-date=16 May 2015 |work=[[PC Gamer]]}}</ref>

===Controversial mods===
Mods can alter games to reveal nudity and explicit content or introduce it via modded graphics. After the [[Hot Coffee (minigame)|"Hot Coffee" mod incident]], the games industry called for better control of explicit mods.<ref name="auto" />{{Explain|date=August 2025}} In 2025, [[Take-Two Interactive]] filed a [[DMCA]] complaint against two nude mods, hosted on Nexus, for a character in ''[[Mafia: The Old Country]]''.<ref name="Wolens">{{Cite web |last=Wolens |first=Joshua |date=2025-08-20 |title=Take-Two lawyers give Mafia nude mods the cement shoes treatment, DMCA projects that had the Don's daughter parading in the buff |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/take-two-lawyers-give-mafia-nude-mods-the-cement-shoes-treatment-dmca-projects-that-had-the-dons-daughter-parading-in-the-buff/ |access-date=2025-08-21 |website=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref> ''[[Kotaku]]'' noted that the later-removed mods tweaked the game's preexisting nude character model, simply allowing it to appear throughout the game.<ref name="Zwiezen">{{Cite web |last=Zwiezen |first=Zack |date=2025-08-20 |title=Mafia: The Old Country Nude Mod Removed By Take-Two |url=https://kotaku.com/mafia-old-country-nude-mod-removed-take-two-lawyers-2000618893 |access-date=2025-08-21 |website=[[Kotaku]] |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Bethesda Softworks]] does not allow mods with nudity to be uploaded to its platforms.{{Citation needed|date=July 2025}} Nexus Mods allows for mods with nudity as long as nudity is not present in the preview image for the download page, such as Caliente's Beautiful Bodies Edition, which allows for body modification in Bethesda's ''Skyrim'' and ''[[Fallout 4]]'' and has been downloaded at least 8.2 million times.<ref name="auto8" /> Video game mods are subject to [[Pornography laws by region|regional legislation on pornography]]. Nexus Mods plans to add [[Age verification system|age verification]] to mods containing explicit content to comply with the [[Online Safety Act 2023|Online Safety Act]] in the UK and [[Digital Services Act]] in the EU.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hansford |first=Amelia |date=2025-07-02 |title=Top video game modding website to put adult content behind age checks |url=https://www.thepinknews.com/2025/07/02/nexus-mods-adult-content-age-checks/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=PinkNews {{!}} Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news {{!}} LGBTQ+ news |language=en-US}}</ref>

Game developers and publishers retain the discretion to limit and remove political and [[Discrimination|discriminatory]] mods for their games. In 2016, [[Paradox Interactive]] took down a Steam Workshop mod for their game ''[[Stellaris (video game)|Stellaris]]'' which replaced non-white human characters with white ones, stating that they did not "wish to enable discriminatory practices".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hall |first=Charlie |date=2016-05-24 |title=Paradox removed a Steam mod that eliminates non-whites from Stellaris |url=https://www.polygon.com/2016/5/24/11760696/paradox-removes-discriminatory-mod-that-removed-non-white-races-from-stellaris |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=Polygon |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=2016-05-25 |title=Stellaris mod that makes all humans "European" is back on the Steam Workshop |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/paradox-pulls-stellaris-mod-that-makes-all-humans-european/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Orland |first=Kyle |date=2016-05-25 |title=Paradox's removal of Stellaris' "Whites Only" mod draws controversy [Updated] |url=https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/05/paradoxs-removal-of-stellaris-whites-only-mod-draws-controversy/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=Ars Technica |language=en}}</ref> As of 2025, EA's mod policy stated that they held the right to "address any inappropriate Mods", including those with obscene or objectionable content.<ref name=":10">{{Cite magazine |last=Yzola |first=Alana |date=May 15, 2025 |title=EA Tried to Stop an 'Anti-DEI Mod' for 'The Sims 4'—but More Keep Surfacing |url=https://www.wired.com/story/ea-tried-to-stop-an-anti-dei-mod-for-the-sims-4-but-more-keep-surfacing/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> In the same year, the company submitted a [[Notice and take down|copyright infringement notice]] to forums hosting a ''The Sims 4'' mod which altered or removed representations of [[LGBTQ people|LGBTQ]] and Black people.<ref name=":10" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Hughes |first=William |date=May 15, 2025 |title=There are now "anti-DEI" mods infesting The Sims 4 |url=https://www.avclub.com/the-sims-4-anti-dei-mods-ea |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=AV Club |language=en-US}}</ref> Additionally, mod-hosting websites have removed potentially objectionable or divisive mods. Ahead of the [[2020 United States presidential election]], Nexus Mods updated their Terms of Service to state that content that promotes "conflict, division and mob harassment" would be removed. In 2025, the website removed a mod for ''[[Marvel Rivals]]'' which replaced the model for Captain America with one of Donald Trump, citing the updated policy.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Cruz |first=Christopher |date=2025-01-09 |title='Marvel Rivals' Has a Donald Trump Problem |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/rs-gaming/marvel-rivals-donald-trump-mod-ban-1235230261/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Morics |first=Peter |date=2020-10-02 |title=Nexus Mods Bans Mods Based On U.S. Politics |url=https://screenrant.com/nexus-mods-bans-us-politics/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=ScreenRant |language=en}}</ref> The website has removed several mods that targeted [[LGBTQ themes in video games|LGBTQ themes]], including a mod which removed [[pride flag]]s from [[Marvel's Spider-Man (video game)|''Marvel's Spider-Man'']];<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Grayson |first1=Nathan |last2=Klimentov |first2=Mikhail |last3=Michel |first3=Jamal |date=2022-08-19 |title='Spider-Man' modification scene turns into Pride flag battlefield |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2022/08/19/spider-man-remastered-pride-flag-mod-nexus/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref> a mod which changed the gender of an [[non-player character]] (NPC) in a same-sex relationship in ''Baldur's Gate 3'';<ref>{{Cite web |last=Thomas |first=Kyle |date=2023-12-06 |title=Controversial Baldur's Gate 3 Mod Removed |url=https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-anti-gay-mod-removal/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=Game Rant |language=en}}</ref> and a mod which changed the "body type" option to male or female for ''The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=2025-04-25 |title=Nexus Mods decides to allow an Oblivion Remastered mod that changes 'body type' options to male/female, declares it's not 'a battleground for broader cultural or political debates' |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rpg/nexus-mods-decides-to-allow-an-oblivion-remastered-mod-that-changes-body-type-options-to-male-female-declares-its-not-a-battleground-for-broader-cultural-or-political-debates/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref>

===Paid mods===
While generally satisfied with working for free,<ref name=":19" /> mod authors can create and sell mods for various titles through game developer-created channels, including Bethesda's Verified Creators Program for their games and [[InZOI|InZOI's]] Creation Marketplace.<ref name=":6" /> Typically, game companies forbid the commercial sale of mods through their EULAs,<ref name="auto5">{{cite journal |last1=Joseph |first1=Daniel James |date=27 February 2018 |title=The Discourse of Digital Dispossession: Paid Modifications and Community Crisis on Steam |url=https://e-space.mmu.ac.uk/625212/3/Joseph%20-%20The%20Discourse%20of%20Digital%20Dispossession%20.pdf |journal=Games and Culture |volume=13 |issue=7 |pages=690–707 |doi=10.1177/1555412018756488 |s2cid=149293423}}</ref><ref name=":18" /> including [[Blizzard Entertainment]], who updated their policies in 2009 to disallow the sale and soliciation of donations for third-party add-ons for ''[[World of Warcraft]]''.<ref name="auto1" /> If the EULA allows for it, authors can accept donations for their mods independently on [[Crowdfunding|crowdfunding websites]], such as [[Patreon]] and Ko-fi, avoiding restrictions on direct sales.<ref name=":9" /> Mod uploaders on [[Nexus Mods]] can earn "donation points", which they can trade in for real-world currency sourced from a donated pool. Over $12 million has been paid to top creators on the platform since 2018.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Livingston |first=Christopher |date=2018-05-22 |title=Nexus Mods launches reward system for modders, seeds it with $100,000 |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/nexus-mods-launches-system-to-pay-modders-seeds-it-with-dollar100000/ |access-date=2025-07-28 |work=PC Gamer |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":9" />

The implementation of "paid mod" systems has been controversial.<ref name=":14" /> Since their attempted introduction on Steam, the market generally has steered away from paid mods.<ref name=":19" /> In 2022, [[Electronic Arts]] updated their policy to disallow "money transactions of any type" for independently distributed paid mods for ''[[The Sims 4]]''.<ref name=":8">{{Cite web |last=Zwiezen |first=Zack |date=2022-08-02 |title=EA Changes Sims 4 Paid Mod Rules After Fan Backlash |url=https://kotaku.com/ea-paid-mods-early-access-sims-4-rule-changes-maxis-1849362416 |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Kotaku |language=en}}</ref> Criticisms of the change came from ''Sims'' 4 creators and mod authors who sold mods through an [[early access]] model on crowdfunding websites and released completed mods for free. The policy was later updated to allow paid mods using the early access model while still prohibiting completed mods sold with an explicit paywall.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Williams |first=Leah J |date=2022-08-03 |title=EA rules all Sims 4 mods must be available 'in full for free' |url=https://www.gameshub.com/news/news/the-sims-4-mods-policy-ea-early-access-commercial-25509/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Gameshub |language=en-AU}}</ref> In 2024, Nexus Mods clarified their policies regarding the hosting of paid mods, including disallowing mods that require other paid mods as a prerequisite as well as [[Game demo|lite and demo versions]] of externally hosted paid mods, citing that paid modding is "in direct conflict" with their goal of making modding easy.<ref name=":5" /> Bethesda replaced their [[Creation Club]] with Creations, a new system for free and paid mod hosting and distribution within their titles such as Skyrim. Implemented in 2023, reception of the system was widely negative,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cryer |first=Hirun |date=2023-12-06 |title="Disappointed" Skyrim modders pledge to never charge for their creations after Bethesda resurrects paid mod shop |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/disappointed-skyrim-modders-pledge-to-never-charge-for-their-creations-after-bethesda-resurrects-paid-mod-shop/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=GamesRadar+ |language=en}}</ref> with criticisms of the price, the harm on the community, and the practice of abandoning free mods in favor of pushing paid updated versions. The system was present in the 2024 release of [[Starfield (video game)|Starfield]], where it received similar negative reception<ref>{{Cite web |last=Rossi |first=José V. |date=2024-10-14 |title=Starfield Fans Still Aren't Happy About the Creation Club |url=https://gamerant.com/starfield-creation-club-fans-unhappy-high-prices-mods/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Game Rant |language=en}}</ref> However, Creations has also been praised as a mutually beneficial platform that allows modders to work with game developers and have their work promoted in game.<ref name=":31" />

Arguments against paid mods have been diverse across mod-users and modders. Some users denounce developers who sell mods as "[[sellouts]]", arguing that modding should be a "labor-of-love". Criticism towards the price of cosmetic mods has been drawn, with users additionally pointing out that the selling of third-party assets used in many mods could be classified as copyright infringement. With Steam's introduction of paid mods in 2015, users were apprehensive about the centralization and surveillance of modding, as all submitted mods had to be approved by Steam. Other users mentioned that creators deserve to be compensated for their work and were open to paying for extensively elaborate mods.<ref name=":31" />

==Types==
In the context of video games, the words "mod" and "modification" are not primarily academic terms and are sometimes used in conflicting ways to encompass and distinguish varieties of alterations to video games. Generally, as defined and used by players, mod makers, and gaming press, the definition of video game modding is the alteration or addition of content to an existing video game with [[user-generated content]], particularly on PC. This understanding can significantly differ between game genres.<ref name=":31">{{Cite journal |last=Walsdorff |first=Finja |date=2022 |title=Video Game Modding and Money. From Precarious Playbor to Reimbursed Labor of Love |url=https://www.gamescoop.uni-siegen.de/spielformen/index.php/journal/article/view/23/18 |journal=Spiel{{!}}Formen |volume=2 |doi=10.25969/mediarep/19008}}</ref><ref name=":27">{{Cite book |last=Sotamaa |first=Olli |url=https://researchportal.tuni.fi/en/publications/the-players-game-towards-understanding-player-production-among-co |title=The Player's Game: Towards Understanding Player Production Among Computer Game Cultures |date=2009 |publisher=Tampere University Press |isbn=978-951-44-7650-1 |pages=91–98 |language=English}}</ref> As modding is an evolving concept, there is no exhaustive list of all types of mods nor agreement on what each type of mod encompasses.<ref name=":15" />

===Total conversion===<!-- This section is linked from [[First-person shooter]] -->
{{See also|List of video games derived from mods}}
A ''total conversion'' is a mod of an existing game that extensively removes aspects of the original game, including art, characters, plot, and music, and replaces it with new assets that run on the game's engine<ref name=":18" /> Total conversions can result in a completely different [[video game genres|genre]] from the original.

Examples of famous total conversions include ''[[Counter-Strike (video game)|Counter-Strike]]'', whose developers were hired by Valve to create a standalone version,<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2017/02/10/best-total-conversion-mods/|title=Best total conversion mods|last=Donnelly|first=Joe|date=2017-02-10|journal=Rock, Paper, Shotgun|language=en-US|access-date=2017-07-19}}</ref> ''[[Defense of the Ancients]]'', which was the first MOBA to have sponsored tournaments,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |last=Whitaker |first=Ron |date=June 9, 2017 |title=8 of the Coolest Total Conversion Mods Ever Made |url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/galleryoftheday/13909-8-of-the-Best-Total-Conversion-Mods-of-All-Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200121205708/http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/features/galleryoftheday/13909-8-of-the-Best-Total-Conversion-Mods-of-All-Time |archive-date=2020-01-21 |access-date=2017-07-19 |work=The Escapist}}</ref> and ''[[Garry's Mod]]'', for which fans created thousands of game modes over its decade-long development.<ref name=":1" /> The ''[[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]'' modding community splintered across the different total conversions available, often modding for a particular total conversion rather than ''Half-Life'' in general.<ref name=":2" />

Many popular total conversions are later turned into standalone games, replacing any remaining original assets to allow for commercial sale without [[copyright infringement]]. Some of these mods are even approved for sale while using the [[Intellectual property|IP]] of the original game, such as ''[[Black Mesa (video game)|Black Mesa]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-11-20-valve-gives-black-mesa-permission-to-be-a-commercial-product|title=Valve gives Black Mesa permission to be a commercial product|last=Matulef|first=Jeffrey|date=2013-11-20|website=Eurogamer|language=en-UK|access-date=2017-07-19}}</ref> ''[[League of Legends]]'' and ''[[Dota 2]]'' were both originally mods for ''[[Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Reilly |first=Jim |date=May 11, 2012 |title=Valve, Blizzard Reach DOTA Trademark Agreement |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/05/11/valve-blizzard-reach-dota-trademark-agreement.aspx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724090129/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2012/05/11/valve-blizzard-reach-dota-trademark-agreement.aspx |archive-date=July 24, 2012 |access-date=March 30, 2016 |publisher=[[Game Informer]]}}</ref><ref name=":11" />

Due to the increasing complexity of games, the amount and quality of total conversion mods has decreased. Modders also blame a lack of resources, the remote chances of profit (due to EULAs prohibiting the sale of mods), and the likelihood of a [[Notice and take down|takedown notice]] from game companies as significant barriers to entry.<ref name=":18" />

===Overhaul===
An ''overhaul'' mod significantly changes an entire game's graphics and gameplay, usually with the intent to improve on the original, but not going as far as being a completely different experience. This can also include adding revised dialog and music.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}}

Examples of overhaul mods include ''Deus Ex: Revision'', which was given permission from its publisher, [[Square Enix]], to release on Steam alongside the original game,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theverge.com/2015/10/13/9521011/deus-ex-revision-mod-release-steam|title=A massive overhaul for the original Deus Ex is now available on Steam|last=Robertson|first=Adi|date=2015-10-13|website=The Verge|access-date=2017-07-19}}</ref> and ''GTA 5 Redux'', which improves the original game's textures, adds a new weather system, and adjusts visual effects, the wanted system, weapons, and vehicle handling.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/that-gorgeous-gta-5-graphics-overhaul-mod-is-final/1100-6443721/|title=That Gorgeous GTA 5 Graphics Overhaul Mod Is Finally Available|last=Pereira|first=Chris|date=2016-09-20|website=GameSpot|language=en-US|access-date=2017-07-19}}</ref>

===Randomizer===
''Randomizers'' are a type of user mod that keep the fundamental gameplay but randomize elements of the game to make it more of a challenge. Randomizers came out of the [[speedrunning]] community which had exhausted the challenge of racing through the game.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://kotaku.com/what-happens-when-you-randomize-the-legend-of-zelda-1758777271 | title = What Happens When You Randomize The Legend Of Zelda | first = John | last = Harris | date = February 2, 2016 | access-date = December 7, 2019 | work = [[Kotaku]]}}</ref> Their popularity grew as randomizer playthroughs were popular with streaming media.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/12/how-randomizers-are-breathing-new-life-into-old-games/ | title = How "randomizers" are breathing new life into old games | first = Scott | last = White | date = December 3, 2019 | access-date = December 7, 2019 | work = [[Ars Technica]]}}</ref> Some games have offered official randomizer modes in the game itself, such as ''[[Cassette Beasts]]'' in 2023,<ref name="RPGFan review">{{Cite web |last=Miller |first=Des |date=2023-04-26 |title=''Cassette Beasts'' Review |url=https://www.rpgfan.com/review/cassette-beasts/ |access-date=2023-04-30 |website=RPG Fan |language=en-US}}</ref> or in [[downloadable content]], including ''[[Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night]]'' in 2020,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.usgamer.net/articles/bloodstained-zangetsu-randomizer-mode-release-news|title=Bloodstained Adds a New Character and Randomizer Mode, But Switch Players Have to Wait|last=Van Allen|first=Eric|date=4 May 2020|work=US Gamer|access-date=25 September 2021|archive-date=25 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210925180150/https://www.usgamer.net/articles/bloodstained-zangetsu-randomizer-mode-release-news}}</ref> and ''[[Axiom Verge]]'' in 2021.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pcgamer.com/axiom-verge-just-got-a-surprise-randomizer-mode/|last=Prescott|first=Shaun|date=14 January 2021|work=PC Gamer|title=Axiom Verge just got a surprise Randomizer mode}}</ref>

===Add-on===
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2025}}
An ''add-on'' or ''addon'' is a term which encompasses various levels of complexity, including mods, maps, skins, and other changes to game play.<ref name="auto3" /> Typically, it is small mod which adds to the original content of a specific game.<ref name=":15" /> In most cases, an add-on will add one particular element to a game, such as a new weapon in a shooting game, a new unit or map in a strategy game, a new vehicle or track in a racing game, items in a game like ''[[Minecraft]]'' or ''[[Terraria]]'', or additional content in simulation games (such as new pilotable airplanes, e.g., the [[Airbus A330]] or [[Boeing 787 Dreamliner]]). An example of a mod that adds functionality to augment or enhance a players experience is ComputerCraft, a [[Minecraft modding|Minecraft mod]] that adds programmable computers and robots to allow the player to automate tasks in-game. This can be accomplished without changing any of the original game's existing content. Many games are flexible and allow this, however that is not always the case. Some add-ons occasionally have to replace in-game content, due to the nature of a peculiar game engine. It may be the case, for example, that in a game which does not give a player the option to choose their character, modders wishing to add another player model will simply have to overwrite the old one. A famous example of this type of mod can be found for the ''Grand Theft Auto'' series wherein modders may use downloadable tools to replace content (such as models) in the game's directory. The ''[[Left 4 Dead]]'' series can also be modded with individual add-ons which are stored in a {{Not a typo|.VPK}} format, so that a player may choose to activate a given mod or not. Mods for the ''[[Tony Hawk's Pro Skater]]'' series typically replace pro skaters with custom equivalents,<ref name="Warren">{{Cite web |last=Warren |first=Mark |date=2025-07-11 |title=Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4 drops in full today, so of course a modder already has Mary Poppins poppin' kickflips |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34-drops-in-full-today-so-of-course-a-modder-already-has-mary-poppins-poppin-kickflips |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250712015614/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/tony-hawks-pro-skater-34-drops-in-full-today-so-of-course-a-modder-already-has-mary-poppins-poppin-kickflips |archive-date=2025-07-12 |access-date=2025-07-12 |website=[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]] |language=en}}</ref> and in some cases add them as well as custom maps made from scratch or converted from other games.

===Unofficial patch===
{{Main|Unofficial patch}}

An ''unofficial patch'' is a mod of an existing game that fixes [[Software bug|bugs]] in a game or unlocks content normally inaccessible in official gameplay.{{Citation needed|date=August 2025}} Unofficial patches can reveal cut content from released games, whose files can be left in the game's code. An example is the [[Hot Coffee mod|''Hot Coffee'' mod]] for ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'', which unlocks a sexually explicit minigame not accessible in the game's original release but left in its code.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal|last1=Sotamaa|first1=Olli|title=On modder labour, commodification of play, and mod competitions|journal=[[First Monday (journal)|First Monday]]|date=3 September 2007|volume=12|issue=9|doi=10.5210/fm.v12i9.2006|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":18" /> As a result of the mod, the [[ESRB]] changed the rating of the game from ''Mature'' (M) to [[Entertainment Software Rating Board#Adults Only rating|''Adults Only'' (AO)]].<ref name="RerateToAORating">{{cite web |last=Thorsen |first=Tor |date=2005-12-14 |title=San Andreas rated AO, Take-Two suspends production |url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6129500.html |access-date=July 1, 2006 |work=[[GameSpot]] |publisher=[[CNET Networks]]}}</ref> In the fourth quarter of 2005, Rockstar released a "clean" version of the game with the "Hot Coffee" scenes removed, and the rating of the game was reverted to ''Mature''.<ref name="RevertToMRating">{{cite web|url=http://www.gamespot.com/news/6152490.html |title=FTC Hot Coffee ruling scalds, but doesn't burn Take-Two |work=[[GameSpot]] |publisher=CNET Networks |access-date=July 1, 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060708231006/http://www.gamespot.com/news/6152490.html |archive-date=July 8, 2006 |date=2006-06-08}}</ref> In May 2006, a similar event occurred with ''[[The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion]]''.<ref name="auto" />

=== Accessibility ===
[[Accessibility]] mods aim to improve the gaming experience for people with disabilities. Because many mainstream video games lack comprehensive accessibility features, modders often create tools to assist players with controls, difficulty settings, and in-game navigation.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Nair |first1=Vishnu |last2=Karp |first2=Jay L. |last3=Silverman |first3=Samuel |last4=Kalra |first4=Mohar |last5=Lehv |first5=Hollis |last6=Jamil |first6=Faizan |last7=Smith |first7=Brian A. |chapter=NavStick: Making Video Games Blind-Accessible via the Ability to Look Around |date=2021-10-12 |title=The 34th Annual ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology |chapter-url=https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3472749.3474768 |series=UIST '21 |location=New York, NY, USA |publisher=Association for Computing Machinery |pages=538–551 |doi=10.1145/3472749.3474768 |arxiv=2109.01202 |isbn=978-1-4503-8635-7}}</ref> In particular, these mods may include support for [[screen reader]]s, color filters and graphical adjustments for [[Color blindness|colorblind players]], modified audio cues, and [[pathfinding]] systems, among other features.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Gonçalves |first1=David |title=My Zelda Cane: Strategies Used by Blind Players to Play Visual-Centric Digital Games |date=2023-01-19 |arxiv=2301.08031 |last2=Piçarra |first2=Manuel |last3=Pais |first3=Pedro |last4=Guerreiro |first4=João |last5=Rodrigues |first5=André}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Moth |date=2024-06-14 |title=Mod Makers Helping Blind and Visually Impaired Gamers |url=https://inviocean.com/play/mod-makers-helping-blind-and-visually-impaired-gamers/ |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=InviOcean |language=en-US}}</ref>

===Art mod===
An ''art mod'' is a mod that is created for artistic reasons or to provoke a reaction in the audience.<ref>{{cite news |last=Steinberg |first=Scott |date=2010-08-31 |title=Who says video games aren't art? |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/08/31/video.games.art.steinberg/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100903031954/http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/gaming.gadgets/08/31/video.games.art.steinberg/ |archive-date=3 September 2010 |access-date=2010-08-31 |publisher=[[CNN]]}}</ref> Art mods are frequently associated with [[video game art]]. Modified games that retain their playability and are subject to more extensive mods (i.e. closer to total conversions) may also be classified as art games.<ref name=cannon>Cannon, Rebecca. "Meltdown" from ''Videogames and Art'' (Clarke, Andy and Grethe Mitchell, eds.). Bristol: Intellect Books. Pp.40-42. 2007. {{ISBN|978-1-84150-142-0}}</ref> One example is the ''Velvet-Strike'' mod for ''Counter Strike,'' in which the players spray paint anti-violence messages in multiplayer games as a form of [[performance art]]. In Robert Nideffer's ''Tomb Raider I and II'' patches, the unofficial ''[[Tomb Raider (1996 video game)#Nude Raider|Nude Raider]]'' patch of the late 1990s was alluded to and subverted by altering the main character's sexual orientation.<ref name="stalker">{{Cite thesis |last=Stalker |first=Phillipa Jane |date=2006-11-15 |title=Gaming in art: A case study of two examples of the artistic appropriation of computer games and the mapping of historical trajectories of "Art Games" versus mainstream computer games |url=http://ljudmila.org/~selectparks/dl/PippaStalker_GamingInArt.pdf |degree=MSc |language=en}}</ref> The 1983 mod ''Castle Smurfenstein'' is a humorous subversion of ''[[Castle Wolfenstein]]'' which replaces the Nazi guards with [[Smurfs]].<ref name=":25" />

Mods can be created specifically for the production of recorded videos, whether for artistic expression or other storytelling purposes. In 2022, a group of modders started an internet hoax in which they uploaded gameplay recording of the 2017 game ''[[Nier: Automata]]'' on PC that showed off a purported secret, never-before-seen location in the game''.'' Fans of the game theorized how to unlock the region in their own copies, and the game's director, [[Yoko Taro]], cryptically acknowledged the hoax but neither confirmed nor denied it as true.<ref name=":13">{{Cite magazine |last=Farokhmanesh |first=Megan |date=2022-07-29 |title=Is This 'Nier: Automata' Church a Hoax or a 5-Year-Old Secret? |url=https://www.wired.com/story/nier-automata-church-hoax-yoko-taro/ |access-date=2023-03-16 |magazine=Wired |language=en-US |issn=1059-1028}}</ref> After over a month, the creators revealed that the faked footage was created using a modded version of the game and released [[The Nier: Automata Church|the mod]] to the public along with map-modding tools that were first of their kind for the game.<ref name=":22">{{Cite news |last=Zheng |first=Jenny |date=2022-10-07 |title=Nier: Automata's secret church mystery: chaos, community, and an amazing mod |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/nier-automatas-secret-church-mystery-chaos-community-and-an-amazing-mod |access-date=2023-03-16 |work=Rock, Paper, Shotgun |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Bailey |first=Dustin |date=2022-09-07 |title=The people behind the Nier Automata church hoax have released the mod to the public |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/the-people-behind-the-nier-automata-church-hoax-have-released-the-mod-to-the-public/ |access-date=2023-06-16 |website=[[GamesRadar+]] |language=en}}</ref>

=== Support continuation by mod ===
Games no longer actively supported by developers and publishers can be maintained and improved by player-made mods. After EA [[End-of-life (product)|ended support]] for ''[[MVP Baseball 2005]]'', due to losing the license for the [[Major League Baseball]], the game's modding community continued to support it by releasing updated roster lists and graphics mods every year, along with modding alternative baseball leagues for the game.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Good |first=Owen |date=2013-12-22 |title=Nine Years Later, Latin America's Leagues Keep MVP Baseball Alive |url=https://kotaku.com/nine-years-later-latin-americas-leagues-keep-mvp-base-1488236659 |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=Kotaku |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://grantland.com/the-triangle/mvp-baseball-2005-mod-community-mlb-video-games/ |title='MVP Baseball … 2015'? How the Best Baseball Video Game Ever Has Refused to Retire for 10 Years |date=April 14, 2015 |first=Ben |last=Lindbergh |publisher=[[Grantland.com]] |quote=Another factor in MVP's favor: The game allows greater access to its innards than most titles. [...] 2K's failure to match MVP's approval rating despite several years of running unopposed on the PC market, made MVP the go-to game for modders even as it lost its looks relative to 2K and The Show. The community's support peaked from 2005 through the first PC edition of 2K in 2009, tailed off for a time, and then ramped up again once Take-Two abandoned the PC market in 2013 and canceled 2K entirely last year. A decade of EA development made MVP the best baseball game on the PC market in 2005, and a decade of amateur development has helped it keep that title in 2015.}}</ref> Multiple mods were created for the poorly received 2011 game ''[[IL-2 Sturmovik: Cliffs of Dover]]'' to fix bugs and gameplay issues; modders later received [[source code]] access, culminating in an official re-release of the game.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://kotaku.com/mods-saved-a-game-so-theyre-now-an-official-product-1823409264|title=Mods Saved A Game, So They're Now An Official Product|author=Luke Plunkett|date=2018-02-28|publisher=[[kotaku.com]]}}</ref> Following the closure of Ion Storm, the source code for ''[[Daikatana]]'' was released to a select group of modders, who led the version 1.3 patch and ported the game to [[MacOS]], [[Linux]] and [[FreeBSD]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Dawe | first=Liam | date=2016-07-20 | title=You can play controversial FPS 'Daikatana' on Linux now, thanks to a fan patch endorsed by John Romero | url=https://www.gamingonlinux.com/2016/07/you-can-play-controversial-fps-daikatana-on-linux-now-thanks-to-a-fan-patch-endorsed-by-john-romero/ | website=GamingOnLinux | access-date=2023-02-09}}</ref> Mods are also created for older PC games that are incompatible for modern display resolutions, such as the ''DXX-Rebirth'' and ''DXX-Redux'' mods for the 1995 game [[Descent (video game)|''Descent'']].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cimaglio |first=Zachary |date=2024-06-01 |title=Old Games Are Tricky to Run On Modern PCs, So Try These Tips |url=https://www.howtogeek.com/old-games-are-tricky-to-run-on-modern-pcs-so-try-these-tips/ |access-date=2025-07-31 |website=How-To Geek |language=en}}</ref>

===User interface mod===
A [[user interface]] mod changes parts of how players interact with the game,<ref name="auto4"/> revealing information that the player or modder believes is helpful to players.<ref name="auto62"/> Modders have developed a wide range of UI mods for ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' that includes easier command tools to enhanced data presentation displays,<ref name=":17" /> such as the ''ArkInventory'' mod which allows players to sort items into self-created categories.<ref name=":15" />

===Mod packs===
''Mod packs'' are groups of mods put into one package for download, often with an auto-installer. A mod pack's purpose is to make it easier for the player to install and manage multiple mods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://glosbe.com/en/en/modpack|title=modpack - definition - English |website=Glosbe |access-date=2 October 2017}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=August 2025}} Mod packs may be created with the purpose of making the original game more accessible to new players or to make the game more challenging for veteran players.

==See also==

* [[Creative consumer]]
* [[Doom modding]]
* [[Fan labor]]
* [[Level editor]]
* [[Minecraft modding]]
* [[Modding]]
* [[Modding in Grand Theft Auto]]
* [[ROM hacking]]{{Spaced en dash}}modification of the ROM file of a video game
* [[Skyrim modding]]

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* Sihvonen, Tania (2011). ''Players Unleashed!: Modding The Sims and the Culture of Gaming''. Amsterdam: [[Amsterdam University Press]]. Retrieved from [https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt46mt37 Modding The Sims and the Culture of Gaming]
* {{cite magazine |last1=Futter |first1=Mike |title=The Fallacy Of Free Mods - Paying Creators, Developers, And Valve Is The Right Move (And May Return) |url=https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/05/04/the-fallacy-of-free-mods-why-paying-creators-developers-and-valve-is-the-right-move.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150505004522/http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/05/04/the-fallacy-of-free-mods-why-paying-creators-developers-and-valve-is-the-right-move.aspx |url-status=live |archive-date=May 5, 2015 |access-date=27 November 2018 |magazine=[[Game Informer]] |date=May 4, 2015 |language=en}}
* {{cite book |last1=van der Graaf |first1=Shenja |title=ComMODify |date=2018 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, Cham |isbn=978-3-319-61499-1 |language=en-gb|doi=10.1007/978-3-319-61500-4}}
{{Independent production}}

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[[Category:Video game modding| ]]
[[Category:Video game development]]
[[Category:Unofficial adaptations]]
[[Category:Fan labor]]
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