‘Fallout 4’ Mod Tools Arrive In April, PC First Followed By Xbox One And PS4

The availability of the official Fallout 4 modding tools via the Creation Kit continues to be something of the Holy Grail for modders and gamers alike. Creative Director Todd Howard finally gave the answer on when PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC gamers can expect the Creation Kit and mod tools to be released in an interview released Tuesday.

Yes, there have been successful mods made of for the open-world RPG thus far shared through NexusMods. However, the larger creative efforts won’t come until modders are given access to the Fallout 4 scripts and other files that can’t currently be used. Additionally, PS4 and Xbox One owners are completely locked out from using mods until the Creation Kit is released, along with the new Bethesda service that allows mods to be shared across platforms.

Bethesda had been promising the Creation Kit would be released in 2016, without giving a narrower window. Howard finally closed the date down to a month in a new interview with Game Informer.

“Our goal is between the first two DLCs,” Howard said when asked about the official modding tool release. “It’ll go up at that time on PC. In April. All of that stuff will go up on PC. People are beta testing it. There’ll be a lag on consoles. We want to get it up on PC and have it work. It’ll probably be a good month before it hits Xbox One, and another month for PlayStation 4.”

This is a slightly longer timeline than Bethesda’s Creation Kit efforts for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. That game was released in November, 2011, on the PC, and the official mod tools were released the following February. However, the developer was also dealing with a single platform at the time. This will be its first attempt at allowing modders to share their creations with console users.

One glaring open question regarding the use of mods for the console version of Fallout 4 is which ones will be allowed. Bethesda will presumably curate user created additions to the game to ensure they don’t overtly impact performance. This likely cuts out mods that replace existing textures with high resolution ones, as well as extensive conversions.

While we await official word from Bethesda, the first three DLC releases for Fallout 4 are on the horizon. Bethesda is increasing the scale of its add-on plans along with the price of the Season Pass. Those interested can purchase the Season Pass for $29.99 through the end of February. The price will be hiked to $49.99 come March 1, though.

The Fallout 4 DLC plan announced by Bethesda covers the first three add-on packs coming over the next three months. Automatron will hit in March, followed by the Wasteland Workshop in April and Far Harbor in May.

These represent only the first of several DLC releases planned for Fallout 4 throughout 2016. Additionally, free updates will be made to the game, as well, with plans for a re-tooling of Survival Mode, along with various optimizations to gameplay.

One of the free updates is available now for the PC in beta form. Fallout 4update 1.4 was released just yesterday and adds new signs, paintings, and doors to the Settlement Workshop. Additionally, players will be able to decorate their Settlements from the Super Mutant and Raider enemy factions. Nothing says “Home, Sweet Home” like meat totems, meat bags, and meat carts from the Super Mutants clan decorating your villa. Meanwhile, Raider poles, cages, and tents can also be used.

The 1.4 update also contains two dozen fixes from performance improvements to quest fixes to knocking out glitches with select perks.

[Image via Bethesda]