Starfield didn’t even take a full month for it to become one of the most modded games of in history with over 3,000 mods uploaded to Nexusmods and almost 18 million mods downloaded in just three weeks.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, as Starfield does not yet have a Creation Kit—which will be the harbinger of Starfield modding truly beginning.
Creation Kits may or may not be a term you’ve heard before, and is likely one you’ve seen floating around if you’ve followed posts concerning Starfield mods. Read on for an explanation of Creation Kits in general, as well as when we can expect to see a Creation Kit in Starfield.
What is a Creation Kit?
Put simply, a Creation Kit is a tool that allows for streamlined file editing. Without a Creation Kit, making major changes with a mod is significantly more difficult. You don’t just have to create that mod, you would also have to finesse your way into the game’s files to upload new data and edit or delete current data.
When a game has Creation Kit, file editing is no trouble at all, so modders can focus on the content of their mods as opposed to figuring out how to implement them. Skyrim and Fallout 4 both have Creation Kits—if they didn’t, they likely would not have achieved even half of their modding status.
Putting Creation Kit in a game is Todd Howard’s way of saying, “the spare key is under the welcome mat.” It is an open invitation for modders to do what they do best.
When will Starfield have Creation Kit?
We don’t have an exact date for Starfield’s Creation Kit yet, but we know it will be in 2024, and that it is 100 percent coming. Todd Howard has not only expressed a willingness to have Starfield modded, but he has also expressed an outright desire.
Skyrim received a Creation Kit three months after its release, and Fallout 4 received one six months down the road. There isn’t any real reason for us to believe Starfield will follow this trend and receive its Creation Kit in nine months, but there isn’t a huge reason to believe otherwise either.
Starfield was built on a different engine than previous Bethesda games—the creatively named Creation Engine Two (the previous was Creation Engine). This means old files and data cannot really be reused and Bethesda has to build the Creation Kit for Starfield from scratch. We also know that adding a Creation Kit to Starfield is a huge priority for Bethesda, so it really can go either in terms of release timeline.
The studio has to do a lot more work to launch Starfield’s Creation Kit, but they’re also working a lot harder to do so.
How will Creation Kit effect Starfield?
The effect Creation Kits will have on Starfield mods cannot be predicted with certainty, however, looking at Skyrim‘s current mod climate gives a good idea. We will likely see mods that can completely overhaul the game: including fanmade DLC, new designs and layouts for cities, new companions, and more.
It is likely that totally gamechanging mods will be available for Starfield very soon after the Creation Kit is released, as the game’s popularity and current modded status both are very strong indicators modders will continue to highly prioritize content creation for Starfield.
Can Starfield be modded without Creation Kit?
The simple answer is yes—Starfield can already be modded, even though Creation Kit isn’t available yet. Creation Kit will make modding easier and more capable—it doesn’t affect whether or not it’s possible.
As it stands, Starfield has thousands of mods and more are being made every day. The difference here is that until Creation Kit is available, downloading a mod will require a little bit more tech know-how, as you will have to extract files to their proper locations yourself. Mod pages will almost always have instructions for proper installation, but this can be intimidating regardless for people who have never modded before.
