Pete Hines, marketing executive at Bethesda explains in a video interview how important it is for his company to take Fallout 4 mods from PC and make them available to console players.
"It's a big deal," Hines says.
He points out that translating the mods from one platform to another has been one of Todd Howard's purposes since 2002, when The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind launched. Todd Howard is the game director for Fallout 4 and an important member of the Bethesda team.
"[Modding is] something we've always supported, with all the Bethesda Game Studios titles," Hines underlines.
Both modders and console owners have reasons to be jolly. Even if mods crafting is restricted to PC, users of Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will be able to get them. Xbox One will be the first console to receive the supported Fallout 4 mods, and Bethesda promises that PlayStation 4 will follow suit as soon as possible.
At E3 2015, Hines told the press why Microsoft's Xbox One gets priority. The answer is that the Redmond-based company behind the console has a vast expertize with both the PC environment and the console ecosystem.
"They had some pretty good ideas about how to make something like this work," Hines comments on Microsoft's involvement in the cross-platform process.
The Fallout 4 Creation Kit, the software tool that allows PC modders to go wild, is set to arrive at the beginning of 2016.
Although Hines did not detail exactly how Fallout 4's PC modes translate to other platforms, he made it clear that Bethesda wants a user-friendly, smooth transition.
"We want to do it in a way that's easy," Hines further points out during the video interview.
Hines explained that the console players will access the mods similarly to how a DLC would get installed. A few simple clicks and voila, your Fallout 4 features the mod that you chose.
"We want it to be a really streamlined, fun experience," adds the marketing executive.
Gamers who are familiar to Bethesda's modding history can see a strong resemblance between the process described by Hines and the way Skyrim modding works via the Steam Workshop.
Anxious gamers started work on mods even before the game's launch. One in particular comes to mind, allowing for improved graphics.
PC, PS4 and Xbox One saw the launch of Fallout 4 on Nov. 10, and Bethesda held itself to its traditional high standards based on the incoming deluge of positive reviews.
