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Mods that extensively transform gameplay are known as total conversions, [[List of video games derived from mods|with some developing into distinct games]]. These releases can be stand-alone titles that do not require the original game to play, or they may be dependent on the user owning the game they are modded onto.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 17, 2016 |title=An Australian Skyrim Mod Has Won A Screenwriting Award |url=https://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/10/an-australian-skyrim-mod-has-won-a-screenwriting-award/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114023556/https://www.kotaku.com.au/2016/10/an-australian-skyrim-mod-has-won-a-screenwriting-award/ |archive-date=November 14, 2021 |access-date=August 17, 2021 |website=Kotaku Australia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-08-27 |title=The making of: Garry's Mod |url=https://www.pcgamesn.com/garrys-mod/the-making-of-garrys-mod |access-date=2025-07-29 |website=PCGamesN |language=en-US}}</ref> As early as the 1980s, video game mods have also been used for the sole purpose of creating art, as opposed to a playable game, leading to the rise of [[Video game art|artistic video game modification]], as well as [[machinima]] and the [[demoscene]].<ref name=":15" />
==History==
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Modders also create and use [[open-source software]] tools for creating mods.<ref name="auto4">{{cite book |last1=Scacchi |first1=Walt |series=IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology |title=Open Source Systems: Grounding Research |chapter=Modding as an Open Source Approach to Extending Computer Game Systems |volume=365 |date=2011 |pages=62–74 |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-24418-6_5 |language=en|isbn=978-3-642-24417-9|s2cid=8934352 }}</ref> With games where modding is unsanctioned, these user-developed tools are the only resources available to develop mods. Examples include tools written to view 3D-geometry and programs used to import this data into 3D-applications, such as [[Maya (software)|Maya]] or [[Autodesk 3ds Max]]. Because game developers [[Encryption|encrypt]] their game's files, unsanctioned modding requires [[reverse engineering]] the structure of the game through extracting and decrypting files. This process is facilitated through the sharing of game files on modding forums, such as the XeNTaX community which produced modded versions [[Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain|''Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain'']] starting in 2015.<ref name=":30" /> [[Generative AI]] is expected to make mod development easier,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Lumb |first1=David |title=Generative AI Is Coming for Video Games. Here's How It Could Change Gaming |url=https://www.cnet.com/tech/gaming/generative-ai-is-coming-for-video-games-heres-how-it-could-change-gaming/ |access-date=31 May 2024 |work=[[CNET]] |date=4 May 2024 |language=en}}</ref> particularly with assets such as textures and voice acting which can present a barrier to entry for amateur mod teams. Voice actors have raised [[Ethics of artificial intelligence|ethical concerns]] over their voices being cloned without their consent, and they have denounced pornographic mods using their cloned voices.<ref name="Stokes">{{Cite web |last=Stokes |first=Ian |date=2021-04-20 |title=Witcher 3 mod uses AI to create new voice lines without Geralt's original voice actor |url=https://www.gamesradar.com/witcher-3-mod-uses-ai-to-create-new-voice-lines-without-geralts-original-voice-actor/ |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=gamesradar |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Donovan |first=Imogen |date=2023-07-07 |title=Video game voice actors denounce NSFW mods using AI deepfakes of their voices |url=https://www.nme.com/news/video-game-voice-actors-denounce-nsfw-mods-ai-deepfakes-voices-3466276 |access-date=2025-07-28 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Dinsdale">{{Cite web |last=Dinsdale |first=Ryan |date=2023-12-22 |title=The Witcher Voice Actor Doug Cockle Calls AI 'Inevitable' but 'Dangerous' |url=https://za.ign.com/the-witcher-3/188055/news/the-witcher-voice-actor-doug-cockle-calls-ai-inevitable-but-dangerous |access-date=2024-06-05 |website=IGN Africa |language=en-za}}</ref>
Websites for hosting and sharing mods are widely used by the modding community. [[Mod DB]] was founded in 2002, with over 300 million mod downloads as of 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nelson |first=Will |date=2021-10-11 |title=Changing the game: an interview with Scott Reismanis - the founder of ModDB |url=https://www.nme.com/features/mods-are-still-a-pillar-of-gaming-after-decades-an-interview-with-the-founder-of-moddb-3062921 |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=NME |language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=About Us |url=https://www.moddb.com/about |access-date=July 26, 2025 |website=Mod DB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Downloads |url=https://www.moddb.com/downloads |access-date=July 26, 2025 |publisher=Mod DB}}</ref>
Free content delivery tools, known as "mod managers", are available to streamline the mod installation process and aid players who are less technically literate. These tools manage downloads, updates, and mod installation. Steam offers the [[Steam Workshop]] within the game launcher itself, allowing a users to share mods for simplified download and installation in supported games.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |last1=Letzter |first1=Rafi |title=Online communities are changing video games to make them better, weirder, and much more wonderful |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-modding-2015-7?r=US&IR=T |access-date=22 February 2019 |work=Business Insider Australia |date=21 July 2015 |language=en |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222152029/https://www.businessinsider.com.au/video-game-modding-2015-7?r=US&IR=T }}</ref> Vortex, a mod manager released by Nexus Mods, is an external tool that supports modding over 65 games and is designed to work with the website.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vortex |url=https://www.nexusmods.com/site/mods/1?tab=description |access-date=July 26, 2025 |website=Nexus Mods }}</ref> Game developers also create official mod managers either alongside their games, such as the Paradox Launcher designed to created by [[Paradox Interactive]],<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2018-03-15 |title=Paradox Interactive Launches Modding Platform For Xbox One And PC |url=https://gameinformer.com/2019/02/20/paradox-interactive-launches-modding-platform-for-xbox-one-and-pc |access-date=2025-08-03 |magazine=Game Informer |language=en}}</ref> or within the games themselves, such as in [[Baldur's Gate 3]] as a part of an update in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lorich |first=Megan |date=2024-12-21 |title=Baldur's Gate 3 is Living Proof That More Games Need Official Mod Managers |url=https://gamerant.com/baldurs-gate-3-mod-manager-support-official-player-content-good-why/ |access-date=2025-07-27 |website=Game Rant |language=en}}</ref>
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