Believe it or not, people are still modding and playing 2011’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and as a result, Bethesda is still updating the game. Most recently, they’ve made changes to how the Creation Club works, allowing for the addition of creators to add paid mods in both the Anniversary and Special Edition versions of the game, as well as a handful of other tweaks in a sizable patch.
You may recognize the Creation Club from when Bethesda introduced it to the long-running fantasy game back in 2017. Officially licensed Creation Club mods later made their way into the Anniversary Edition for free, from gameplay alterations such as a movable campsite to armored mudcrabs, though some of the best Skyrim mods aren’t part of the Creation Club.
If you’re an avid Skyrim modder, you can now apply for the Bethesda Game Studios Verified Creator Program to set your own prices for what you create. To be accepted, you’ll have to have some experience modding so Bethesda can review your portfolio. There’s already a handful of paid mods from verified creators available, including:
- East Empire Expansion, which allows you to create trading posts across Skyrim along with a handful of quests. (700 Creation Club credits)
- Legendary Dungeons – Dwarven Delves adds two new dangerous dungeons to explore. Bethesda notes this is from the same creator that modded Thomas the Tank Engine into the game. (400 Creation Club credits)
- Arquebus, a Dwemer-made gun for those that like to pew pew. (600 Creation Club credits)
To obtain Creation Club credits, you must purchase them from the Skyrim Special Edition – Creation Club Steam page or the Microsoft Store. 750 credits currently costs $7.99 / £5.99. Modders receive a royalty from the sale of each creation.
Those that don’t want to spend more money on Skyrim (after all, you probably already own three copies) will be happy to know that free mods will still be free, without any restriction. This patch has also combined the Mods and Creation Club menus into a unified location that you can access from the main menu in the Skyrim Special or Anniversary editions. Furthermore, a host of bug fixes were included, though it has also broken the Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE), which may cause already installed mods to no longer work until the creators update it.
While still speculation, this update is likely a preview of what’s to come for official Starfield mod support in 2024, despite there already being tons of great Starfield mods for the game. Expect Bethesda’s latest massive RPG to join Skyrim with paid Creation Club mods. If you need some games to play until official mod support comes, check out our list of the best RPG games.
You can also follow us on Google News for daily PC games news, reviews, and guides, or grab our PCGN deals tracker to net yourself some bargains.