In a few days, you can start installing mods on a console for the first time ever.
Microsoft announced today Xbox One is getting mod support for Fallout 4 on May 31. Mods are community-built add-ons that can change various aspects of a game, and it’s a huge part of what makes playing on PC so interesting. One turns certain characters into Thomas the Tank Engine on the PC version of Fallout 4 (a mod replaced dragons with Thomas in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim). Now, some of that mod content is coming to consoles — although you probably won’t see anything featuring copyright-protected intellectual properties. I’m sorry, but you’ll probably still need a PC if you wish to romance Thomas the Tank Engine.
Fallout 4 is one of the best-selling games in the $99.6 billion gaming industry, and Bethesda keeps players coming back with regular updates. The mods, however, are probably even more crucial to maintaining Fallout 4’s place on Steam’s most-played list, where it is usually in the top 10 with perennial hits like Civilization V, Ark: Survival Evolved, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Now, the Xbox One version is getting that as well, and PlayStation 4 should get it in June. Consoles have previously seen player-created content, but that is typically built with in-game tools and rarely do they fiddle with a game’s code in the same way that a mod does.
#Fallout4 [M] mods are coming to #XboxOne. Get them free on May 31 and learn more at https://t.co/fRtqesfdny. pic.twitter.com/tGMHmECFOv
— Xbox (@Xbox) May 27, 2016
Bethesda already brought official mod support to Fallout 4 in a beta update, and it works by installing them through an easy-to-use menu built into the game. Community developers can submit their mods to the publisher, and all approved add-ons will go up on Bethesda’s mods page. It’s likely that most of the mods you find here will work on Xbox One because Bethesda isn’t letting in copyrighted materials on its official channel, but you can still get stuff like modern firearms, better scopes, and craftable cats … which I’m going to install right now!
To get Xbox One’s Fallout 4 fans excited about mod support, Microsoft highlighted some of the best creations that’ll work on day one. These include Snap’n Build, Alien Assault Rifle, and Conquest. These empower players to build better structures and better settlements. They also introduce a new laser weapon and camping, and you can see them all in action in the clip below: