Fallout fans on PlayStation 4 have been patiently waiting for the arrival of mods. PC users have mods for Fallout 4 since the game launched back in November 2015, with Xbox One users receiving mod support earlier this year.
It was clear that Bethesda had run into some problems attempting to bring mods to Sony's console, and now, it is opening up about the source of that problem. According to Bethesda, it's Sony.
Yes, really. In a post on the official Bethesda blog, the company says Sony will not approve user mods "the way they should work: where users can do anything they want for either Fallout 4 or Skyrim Special Edition."
As a result, Bethesda writes that mod support will not be arriving for either of the two games on PS4. Bethesda goes on to state how disappointed it is about the whole scenario.
"Like you, we are disappointed by Sony's decision given the considerable time and effort we have put into this project, and the amount of time our fans have waited for mod support to arrive," the blog post reads. "We consider this an important initiative and we hope to find other ways user mods can be available for our PlayStation audience. However, until Sony will allow us to offer proper mod support for PS4, that content for Fallout 4 and Skyrim on PlayStation 4 will not be available."
It's a little unclear why exactly Sony would turn down the ability for mods on its console. After all, it seems like a no-brainer, and only serves to give more ammunition to Microsoft, which has openly embraced mods for the Xbox One.
An answer looks like it can be found in Bethesda's wording. Bethesda says Sony isn't game for allowing mods "the way they should work," which seems to imply that, perhaps Sony was attempting to have a firmer hand in regulating what mods would and wouldn't appear than Bethesda would like. Mods are already regulated somewhat on Xbox One. For example, players won't find any nudity mods on Microsoft's console. It would make sense for Sony to want some kind of similar restriction, but it sounds like the company may want more control over user content than Bethesda is comfortable with.
Rest assured, there will be plenty of public backlash about this. The ball is in Sony's court now. It will have a chance to either justify its reasoning or cave and let Bethesda do what it set out to accomplish in the first place. We'll have the latest news as it becomes available.
