Video game modding communities can augment titles with a seemingly endless array of ideas, and one large repository of these mods is a site called Nexus Mods. As of this writing, Nexus Mods lists itself as having 275,687 files for modifications across 1,078 games, ranging fromFall Guysbeing added as followers inSkyrimto premiering films likeThe Godfatherin theStardew Valleymovie theater. However, for the foreseeable future, no mods related to sociopolitical issues in the United States will be allowed on the site.
This ban on mods related to American politics comes in response to the Presidential election set to take place on November 3. In a blog post released by site owner Dark0ne today, they said there was a trend of “provocative and troll” memes of “low quality” uploaded to the site in 2016, and given a recent influx of similar content they will be banning all related content uploaded after July 25, 2025.
RELATED:Stardew Valley Mod Lets Players Watch Joker, The Godfather
Given the line of demarcation for uploads, the current increase in sociopolitical mods have likely come as a result of thefirst 2020 Presidential Debatebetween incumbent President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden on September 29. Dark0ne said most of the mods are being uploaded by “sock puppet accounts deliberately to try and cause a stir,” and site moderators will review the restriction again “sometime” after the next inauguration.
According to PCGamesN, one example of a mod which may have caused a stir this week purportedly changed the names of Raiders inFallout 4to “antifa,” though the actual files were empty. Typical mods for a game likeFallout 4will make changes like addingHaloPlasma Rifles, and Dark0ne said “we have neither the time, the care or the wish to moderate” sociopolitical content rife with name calling and baseless accusations.
Though Nexus Mods is leaning away from political content, with Dark0ne saying anyone upset can, “Say and do what you want on other sites or services,” other companies have seemingly been looking to profit on the 2020 election. In January,Hasbro released the politically-chargedMonopoly: House Dividedthat “echoes” America’s political divide by having players choose one of six parties.
TheElder Scrolls,Fallout, andWitcherseries are currently the most active parts of Nexus Mods, withThe Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrimhaving nearly 65,000 files that have been downloaded over 1.7 billion times total as of this writing. Fan-made content related to games likeSkyrimcan also be found on Steam Workshop, or any number of other sites.
MORE:Left 4 Dead 2 Mod Turns Zombies Into Fall Guys Beans
