Skyrim mods on PS4, Xbox One, PC — How to install mods in the Special Edition release
For the first time on consoles, players will be able to download Skyrim mods on PS4 and Xbox One.
The recent launch of mods in Fallout 4 allowed players to customise their adventure with graphical tweaks, new sound effects and even entire new missions, and with hundreds mods available from day one on Xbox One, expect similar healthy support for Skyrim upon release.
If you are playing the 2021 Anniversary Edition, we have explainers on features such as fishing.
On this page:
- How to install mods in Skyrim remastered on PS4 and Xbox One
- What is the difference between Skyrim mods on PS4 and Xbox One?
- How do PC mods work with the Special Edition?
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[4K] Skyrim PS4 Pro vs PC Ultra vs PS4: Graphics Comparison/Frame-Rate Test
How to install mods in Skyrim remastered on PS4 and Xbox One
Mods in Skyrim Special Edition on consoles are accessed in the same way as Fallout 4 on Xbox One and PS4, but require a step before you can get started. Here’s what to do.
1. Go to Bethesda’s official website and create a Bethesda.net account, if you haven’t already.
2. Once you have an account, select the Mods option on the game’s main menu and log into your account.
3. Start browsing and downloading mods. When you select a mod, you can read its description and in-game changes on the right, and its download size and ability to favourite, download and report on the left.
4. Once you have finished downloading mods — you can see everything you’ve installed in ‘My Library’ at the top of the page — go back to the Main Menu by pressing Back. The mod selection and data files will reload, and you can load a save with the mods installed.
There are a few things to note when installing mods on a console:
- As Bethesda points out in its loading screen, mods are always at your own risk — if there are issues, you can always disable Mods by going back into the Mods menu. You can also see what’s downloaded during play on the Pause screen.
- Trophies and Achievements are disabled while mods are active.
- It’s possible to view all available mods by platform — PS4, Xbox One and PC — by logging into your Bethesda account on the publisher’s official website.
- If the Mods section isn’t visible, make sure your game is updated to the latest version. On PS4 in Europe, the patch won’t go live until the morning of launch day:
EU players: The update for PS4 Mods on Skyrim Special Edition will be going live shortly. Once you have the update, please restart the game.
— Bethesda Support (@BethesdaSupport) October 28, 2016
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What is the difference between Skyrim mods on PS4 and Xbox One?
After some initial back and forth between Bethesda and Sony, the PS4 version of Skyrim will feature mod support, but will only allow assets that already exist within the game — so don’t expect anything like Thomas the Tank Engine Dragons on PS4.
As a result, there has been a large gulf between the number of mods available on both systems — 38 on PS4 versus 119 on Xbox One. Meanwhile, the storage space reserved for mods on each console is also different — 5GB on Xbox One, and 1GB on PS4.
As our story on the news mentions, mods should mostly consist of text changes that can be as small as 1MB, so expect creations like a level editor with new quests and dialogue, or changes to how the world behaves, than anything new and unusual.
This ‘Rain and Snow FX’ mod on PS4 only requires 3.50KB to install.
On Xbox One, meanwhile, expect something along the lines of what we’ve seen in Fallout 4 on console so far:
Want more help with Skyrim? Find out how to join every guild and faction, how to earn Gold fast, learning about XP and levelling to 100, max Crafting skills, max Warrior skills, max Thief skills and max Mage skills, how to get married, where to buy a house, how to start Dawnguard, Hearthfire and Dragonborn DLC expansions.
If you’re on PC, we have a list of console commands and cheats, and you can learn about the remastered version and how to install mods with our Skyrim guide. Finally, with Switch owners, we have Skyrim amiibo support explained to help unlock special Zelda-themed items.
How do PC mods work with the Special Edition?
On PC, while you are able to use existing mods (found on destinations such as Nexus) in the new release, and it will also support those uploaded through Bethesda.net’s own Creation Kit library, as mentioned with the steps above.
A small note on mods — while existing save files will work from original Skyrim to the Special Edition, it’s advised that only original saves without mods be transferred, otherwise you’ll get the warning «This save relies on content that is no longer present».
Bethesda (finally) rolls out mod support for Skyrim and Fallout 4 on PS4
Kris Ligman, OCTOBER 6, 2016
Updated on SEPTEMBER 16, 2022
Last month, the developer behind open world franchises Fallout and The Elder Scrolls announced that it was suspending efforts to implement mod support for its two latest titles — Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim — on PlayStation 4, strongly intimating that interference from Sony was to blame.
“Until Sony will allow us to offer proper mod support for PS4, that content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim on PlayStation 4 will not be available,” the company said at the time, while noting that it may revisit the matter with Sony “if and when the situation changes.”
It now appears a compromised has been reached, and boy, the emphasis sure is on compromise. In a new company blog post, Bethesda said that mod support would be coming as early as October 28th, coinciding with the release of Skyrim‘s remastered edition on the platform. However, players “will not be able to upload external assets with your PlayStation 4 mods,” meaning they’ll be limited to the assets — textures, models, sound effects — already shipped with the game.
“You will be able to use any assets that come with the game, as most mods do,” Bethesda continues. “Mods on PlayStation 4 will allow you to modify and create your own content by using our Creation Kit.”
While it’s true a lot of simple, straight-forward mods don’t involve any original assets, a lot of the popular ones do, like high-resolution eye and hair textures, new hairstyle models, and original weapons and armor.
This compromise with Sony effectively shuts out all of these mods, limiting modders to Bethesda’s own materials.
It’s clear why Sony would push for this, of course: Fallout 4 modders saw a lot of their work stolen and uploaded without permission on Xbox One, and moderating all uploads for inappropriate content (say, Coca Cola logos or penis drawings) represents a huge undertaking of both time and labor. While theft and unauthorized reproductions also happen for PC titles, the major download hubs like Nexus Mods are self-policing to the extent that it’s relatively rare — or anyway, it’s abstracted enough legally from the game’s publisher that a blind eye can be turned. This isn’t the case on a self-contained platform like PlayStation 4, where Sony and Bethesda face additional liability. So, the simplest and easiest solution is to restrict modders to a known quantity.
It also addresses another issue Bethesda has had with Sony, namely the PlayStation 4’s hard cap on uploaded file size.
Ensuring that mods use only the assets already shipped with your game sure obviates anybody trying to upload 4GB of super high resolution loincloth textures or whatever.
Bethesda indicates that it plans to roll out mod support for Fallout 4 after a successful launch for Skyrim, and that both titles will get 4K support for Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 4 Pro console, due out November 10th.
Top image: Buzz Lightyear armor for Paladin Danse, by Sorenova.
Fallout (series)
Fallout 4
News
PlayStation 4 Pro
The Elder Scrolls (series)
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
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How to install mods for Skyrim Special Edition on Xbox One or PlayStation 4
UNCACHED CONTENT
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition
now available on
PlayStation 4
and
Xbox One
, and for the first time «mods» are available for console players.
If you’re not familiar with the term, mods are player-created (and in this case, officially sanctioned) modifications to the base game. They can do anything from adding new costumes to whole new quest lines with items, spells and perks. Mods have always been one of the big advantages PC gamers have over console gamers, especially in games like The Elder Scrolls seires.
But now console players can have some fun too. Here’s how.
To start using mods in
Skyrim Special Edition
, you need a Bethesda.net account. Head to
Bethesda website
and register an account.
Then launch Skyrim on your console. I’m using a PlayStation 4, but on Xbox One the process should be very similar.
From the main menu, select Mods.
Sign in with your newly created Bethesda account details.
When you log in, you will see a nice warning message that mods can break your game at any moment.
Once logged in, you will see a grid of popular mods with high ratings. Community reviews are really important in the modding community. Highly rated mods are usually more fun and less likely to have unpredictable effects.
You can browse all mods (over 5000) or use the search and filter options to find a specific mod.
When you find one you like, select it and click Download. It’s worth reading the description to see if there are other mods it’s incompatible with. Bethesda didn’t lie about mods that could create weird situations.
You can download as many mods as you like; just make sure they don’t interfere with each other.
To customize which mods are active or get rid of the ones you no longer use, select Load Order from the Mods menu. Here you can see what mods you have active, as well as enable, disable and remove them.
You can also change their order. For example, if you have one mod that changes textures throughout Skyrim and one mod that only changes the texture of snow, you need to make sure the snow mod is loaded.
after
mod for skyrim — otherwise you will see the textures from the mod for skyrim, and not from the snow.
When you’re done, return to the main menu and load the save file.
The game will show another warning that mods are enabled, so trophies on PlaysStation and achievements on Xbox are disabled.
Click Yes and the game will start. All changes made by mods will be in effect.
While you are in the game, you can check which mods you have running by going to the Pause menu and selecting Mods. You must exit the game to enable or disable them.
You are now running Skyrim with mods on the console. Take it, PC gamers!
Skyrim Mods for PS4, Xbox One, PC — How to Install Mods in Special Edition
How to quickly set up your game in the remastered edition on consoles and PC.
For the first time on consoles, players will be able to download Skyrim mods on PS4 and Xbox One . The recent launch of mods in Fallout 4 has allowed players to customize their adventures with graphical changes, new sound effects and even whole new missions, as well as hundreds of mods available from the first days on Xbox One, expect similar healthy Skyrim support after release.
Mods in Skyrim Special Edition on consoles are available in the same way as Fallout 4 on Xbox One and PS4, but a step is required before you can get started. Here’s what to do.
1. Go to the official Bethesda website and create a Bethesda.net Account if you haven’t already.
2. Once you have an account, select the «Mods» option from the main menu of the game and log in to your account.
3. Start browsing and downloading mods. When you select a mod, you can read its description and in-game changes on the right, as well as its download size and the ability to favorite, download, and report on the left.
4. Once you’ve finished uploading mods — you can see everything you’ve installed in «My Library» at the top of the page — return to the main menu by pressing Back. The mod selection and data files will be reloaded and you can load a save with the mods installed.
There are a few things to watch out for when installing mods on a console:
- As Bethesda points out on the loading screen, mods are always at your own risk — if there are problems, you can always disable mods by returning to the mods menu.
You can also see what is loaded during playback on the pause screen. - Trophies and achievements are disabled when mods are active.
- You can view all available mods by platform — PS4, Xbox One and PC — by logging into your Bethesda account on the official website of the publisher.
- If the mods section is not visible, make sure your game is up to date. On PS4 in Europe, the patch won’t go live until launch day morning:
EU Players: An update for PS4 Mods in Skyrim Special Edition will be released soon. Once you receive the update, please restart the game.
– Bethesda Support (@BethesdaSupport) October 28, 2016
After some initial rewind between Bethesda and Sony, the PS4 version of Skyrim will support mods, but will only allow resources that already exist in the game — so don’t expect anything like Thomas Tank Engine’s Dragons on PS4.
As a result, there was a large gap between mods available on both systems — 38 on PS4 versus 119 on Xbox One.
Meanwhile, the storage space reserved for mods on each console is also different — 5 GB on Xbox One and 1 GB on PS4.
As our news story mentions, mods should consist mostly of text changes which can be up to 1MB in size, so expect creations like a level editor with new quests and dialogues, or changes to world behavior than anything new and fancy .
This ‘Rain and Snow FX’ mod on PS4 requires only 3.50 KB to install.
At the same time on Xbox One, expect something similar to what we saw in Fallout 4 on console:
Want to learn more about Skyrim? Learn how to join every guild and faction, how to earn gold fast, learn about XP and level up to 100, max crafting skills, max warrior skills, max thief skills, and max mage skills, how to get married, where to buy a house, how to start the Dawnguard expansion , Hearthfire and Dragonborn DLC. If you are on PC, we have a list of console commands and cheats, and you can learn about the updated version and how to install mods with our Skyrim guide.
