Fallout 76 Players Have Started Making Mods for the Fallout 76 BETA
Ever since the announcement of Fallout 76, fans have been asking about whether there will be mod support for Fallout 76. Bethesda has said that mod support is a priority, especially due to the history of modding associated with their titles. However, the introduction of multiplayer is a major problem in that regard. Nonetheless, some keen modders have already begun making Fallout 76 BETA mods, before the game is even officially released. However, they aren’t likely to last long.
Players Are Already Making Fallout 76 BETA Mods
Despite only being available on PC for a few days, there are at least a dozen different Fallout 76 BETA mods already available on NexusMods. Most of these are cosmetic, allowing players to dye their hair new colours, dye the Vault 76 vault-suit, and even change the layout of the main menu. If Fallout 76 were a single-player title, this would be no surprise. Unfortunately for the modders in this case, it is likely only a matter of time before they are shut down by Bethesda.
Mods in single-player are one thing. In a multiplayer game, however, they pose a very real danger of breaking other people’s games without their permission, or giving one player an unfair advantage. It’s common sense that mods should not be allowed in such a situation, and that is precisely Bethesda’s stance. The studio does want to support mods, but plans to implement private servers as a means of doing so; with access to private servers, modders can make as much as they want without fear of disrupting other players. There’s just one problem; private servers aren’t yet in the game, and they might not arrive until at least a year after launch.
What Will Bethesda Do Now?
It seems very likely that Bethesda will soon act to shut down any mods out there for Fallout 76. Unfortunately, as with any online multiplayer game, hacking and modding is likely to become a problem with Fallout 76. Even benign mods like cosmetics are likely to be banned; one, because Bethesda will no doubt not wish to constantly curate every new mod that appears, and two, because it would allow players to copy items available in the Atomic Shop without paying. Hopefully Bethesda has anticipated this and prepared enough countermeasures. Nonetheless, it is likely to leave Bethesda’s loyal modder fanbase disappointed for a long while yet.