Bethesda Game Studios has advised players of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim and Fallout 4 to log in and back up their game saves and load orders in preparation for upcoming game updates that are expected to break existing mods. The developer issued the warning via social media, encouraging players to manually save their load order before the patches go live.
Fallout 4 is scheduled to receive its update on Tuesday, August 18. This patch aims to provide "general improvements" to the game's Creations features. While such stability updates are typically routine for most games, they represent a significant challenge for Bethesda titles, which are heavily supported by a large modding community.
Upon the release of the update, a substantial number of Fallout 4 mods are likely to cease functioning. While some mod creators will undoubtedly work to release fixes immediately after the update, others may not be updated at all if their developers have moved on. Mod creators are already anticipating a surge of player complaints as games become unplayable due to the update.
For Skyrim and Fallout 4, games that remain highly popular and frequently played, this situation is particularly impactful. Skyrim, for instance, continues to attract tens of thousands of players on Steam concurrently, largely due to the extensive modding scene. This update is expected to affect a significant portion of these PC players, who rely on mods for enhanced gameplay experiences. Players have expressed frustration on social media regarding the prospect of needing to re-download numerous mod updates to restore their game configurations.
Bethesda has not provided a specific release date for the Skyrim update, only stating that it will occur soon. While these types of updates have occurred periodically in the past and are not considered catastrophic, they are likely to cause considerable inconvenience for many players. In addition to backing up saves, many Bethesda fans are advising others to disable automatic game updates on platforms like Steam until their essential mods have been updated to be compatible with the new patches.