Popular games offering mod support is, and always has been, one of the most important and notable features of gaming on PC. The players’ ability to straight-up begin creating their own projects on top of pre-existing titles has, historically, been downright invaluable both to the community and to the developers. After all, some of the biggest modern games, such as DOTA 2 and Counter-Strike 2, began their lives as humble mods. This alone speaks to the value of this particular aspect of PC gaming.
The question that poses itself, then, is which PC games have proven to be the best platforms for mod support as they age? Further, which games will be the best choice if you yourself decide to dive headfirst into their respective modding scenes? That’s what this article aims to discuss, with ten hand-picked choices presented for your consideration.
Choosing the right modding project
It takes a bit of time for a game’s modding scene to truly come into its own. Most developers do not immediately (or at all!) release a set of modding tools to go along with a new title, and even once they do, it takes some time for modders to start producing quality content in the first place. That’s why neither Starfield nor Baldur’s Gate 3 have made their way onto this list: they’re basically babies.
Instead, the focus of this list has been to provide a short yet comprehensive overview of some of the most important, flexible, and relevant PC modding platforms you could start adding onto right this instant. From old classics to the newer and more unexpected stuff, there’s much to enjoy, with a little bit of something for just about everyone featured below.
The best moddable PC games
#10: STALKER: Call of Pripyat
The STALKER franchise has never not been in a troubled spot, all things considered. From its early roughshod production pipeline all the way to the more recent issues, the classic Ukrainian survival horror shooter has survived over the years due to two different things. The first, of course, is the series’ unique vibe, building on top of the Chornobyl mythos. The second, however, is its capacity for modding, the pinnacle of which is (arguably) the STALKER: Anomaly mod.
This totally free-form version of STALKER combines all content from all three base games into one custom fork of the original X-Ray engine. It also serves as the baseline for further modding projects, allowing players to turn it into precisely the sort of game they want it to be. Though the 2024 game does tout official mod support as well, it remains to be seen whether Unreal Engine 5 will allow the same sort of flexibility as X-Ray did.
#9: DOOM 2
It should, perhaps, not be surprising that the sequel to the original DOOM is still doing really well, modding-wise, even 20 years after it first came out. From Brutal DOOM to Ashes 2063, there’s such a wealth and variety of mods available for the 1993 FPS that few other games could compete. This is all thanks to the game’s flexible .wad-based file structure, making it delightfully easy for resourceful modders to turn it into pretty much anything they wanted. RPGs, side-scrollers, and even strategy games are all fair play, as it turns out!
#8: Fallout 4
No modding listicle could go on without featuring at least one Bethesda-developed Fallout game, and Fallout 4 may well be the best choice here. Notably, even though both Fallout 3 and New Vegas are equally moddable, the newer title’s improved engine and gameplay serve as far superior modding platforms.
Simple additions such as new weapons and armor are just the start of it in Fallout 4. Players can basically retrofit entirely new gameplay systems into the game. This, in turn, makes it possible to turn the game into a super-hardcore survival shooter if that’s what you want to do.
#7: Factorio
Factorio is one of the best automation games of all time, but one of the key reasons why it’s as good as it is is the mods. The official Factorio mod hosting page is filled to the brim with virtually every type of mod one could imagine, allowing you to tweak the game to your heart’s content. As infinite optimization is the true gist of Factorio in the first place, it’s easy to see why turning it into a flexible modding platform would be a wonderful idea.
#6: Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines has dominated the city-building genre for a worryingly long period of time, ever since it beat the legendary SimCity series into submission back in the 2010s. Even though a promising sequel is already on the way, we believe some players may choose to stick with the original Skylines for some time, as the game is filled to the brim with awesome mods.
The community has a comprehensive list of must-have Cities: Skylines mods figured out, and we’d go so far as to suggest that many of them are outright must-haves for serious city-building projects. Roundabouts, for one, are a pretty big deal. Can the sequel beat that on day one?
#5: Project Zomboid
Project Zomboid is, with very good reason, often listed as one of the best zombie-themed video games of all time. The truth is, though, that Zomboid is every zombie-themed video game, just rolled up into one immense sandbox that lets you do whatever you want. It’s a survival sim, in the truest sense of the word, and it’s been in active development for almost 15 years now.
What truly makes Zomboid special, though, is its modding community. Want to add dozens of real-world vehicles into the game? No problem! Want to expand the already humongous open world further still? Sure! Add new gameplay mechanics? Certainly! Zomboid lets you do it all, thanks to the game having some of the best mod support in the industry.
#4: Assetto Corsa
Assetto Corsa has all the makings of the ultimate racing game. Community-driven and about as in-depth as you’d want your driving sim to be, it’s still a reasonably janky and complicated experience that won’t lend itself to the more casual virtual driver. The bit that elevates it beyond almost everything else on the market is the mods, then, and it’s hard to put into words how truly comprehensive they are.
According to the AssettoWorld website, which hosts many of the game’s mods, there are a whopping 4556 vehicle mods available for you to download for free right this instant. Further, there are over 500 new tracks to try out, too. Of course, many of these goodies are of slightly subpar quality, but it’s still a remarkable library of fan-made content you’ll find just about nowhere else.
#3: TES 5: Skyrim (Special Edition)
Much as was the case with Fallout, The Elder Scrolls needed its own representative on this list, which effectively means Skyrim Special Edition in this day and age. Really, though, any of Bethesda’s prior mainline TES entries would work. It’s just that Skyrim, in particular, ended up having a remarkably long post-launch tail.
Playing Skyrim without mods right now is downright unthinkable. Whether you want to set up a different UI or outright replace virtually all of the game’s 3D meshes, the game’s modding community lets you do so with gusto.
#2: Half-Life 2
Over the years, Half-Life 2 has played host to an almost ridiculous number of popular mods, with some of them being turned into actual commercial successes, like Portal 2 and Black Mesa. Sure, adding a double jump into the game is an option, but why limit yourself to that when you could produce something like GMOD instead?
Indeed, Garry’s Mod is pretty much the pinnacle of Half-Life 2 modding. Not because of its financial success but because it quickly and easily illustrates just how flexible Valve’s Source engine truly was. Bit of a shame that the Source 2 rollout hasn’t been all that successful, really.
#1: Minecraft
Minecraft is a monumental game in every meaningful way, but the more casual fans may overlook just how powerful of a modding engine it truly is. Mojang’s crowning jewel may have no shortage of content addition mods, to be sure, but the modders’ true genius lies in the wealth of feature-level additions. Roguelike dungeons, entirely new crafting mechanics and machines, or even Civilization-style tech tree implementations.
The thing about Minecraft‘s modding scene, in particular, is that it’s got no limits. Other games’ respective engines and editors often cap out at a certain stage as the modding communities reach the pinnacle of what the software actually supports. Minecraft, though, continues to entertain. And moreover, it is likely to continue doing that for years to come.
Published: Oct 8, 2023 09:11 am