Larian released its modding tools for Baldur’s Gate 3 recently—and it’s a damn impressive integration that the developer, technically-speaking, wasn’t under any obligation to make. Granted it paid off, with head of publishing Michael Douse crediting mods for the game’s physics-defying player numbers throughout 2024.
This integration also included mods for consoles (and Mac), which is a rare treat for our poor, underserved brethren across the digital pond. Though there are a lot of limitations, as explained by senior communications developer Aoife Wilson in the developer’s latest video, seen below.
According to Wilson, authors who want to put their mods on consoles have to submit them to Larian’s community team, who’ll then proceed to test them personally—but there are a ton of potential barriers. There are the sensible things, like “Mods that crash the game”, which I’d imagine would only be good in some kind of interactive horror mod where Swen can trap you in an Only Monika scene.
But then there are some hefty technical limitations. Mods that “add/modify/remove shaders” are a no-go, which immediately swipes a bevvy of graphical overhaul mods out of the hands of would-be downloaders. Likewise, “mods that increase the amount of nudity or violence already present in the game” are forbidden. That means that console players will, one assumes, never experience the beauty of big naturals Withers.
Of course, big sexy mods aren’t likely to make their way onto the game’s official mod support system on PC, either. Larian forbids “any element that can be considered discriminatory, racist, obscene, libellous, offensive”—but the studio literally cannot stop us from plugging these mods into our game the old fashioned way. I’d like to see them try (for legal purposes, this is a joke. I would lose in a fight with Swen Vincke, I think).
The studio also can’t stop us from breaking our own save with 200 mods, turning our games into a Lovecraftian and non-euclydian nightmare of heaving bosoms, mewing Astarions, and Thomas the Tank Engine. It is our gods-given right to self destruct. Console players, however, have been limited to a measly 100 installed mods before the game asks them to please stop.
“With over 100 mods now available on console, we’re actually hitting the limits of how many mods can be active while still keeping Baldur’s Gate 3 stable.” This means that cross-saves with over 100 mods on them’ll become inaccessible via console. However, a blog post from Larian promises that “a follow-up fix is planned to give you the means to restore these saves.”
To be clear, none of this is Larian fumbling the bag in any way—the fact it’s even able to offer this support is downright impressive. Merely, due to the closed circuit nature of consoles, any mods Larian ports over then become the studio’s responsibility. Withers’ knockers aren’t destined for your PlayStation because, well, then the studio’d have to explain that to ratings organisations, and I wouldn’t wish that conversation on anybody. Similarly, it has to make sure it isn’t enabling tech that’ll break anything significant. Luckily, our ability to rock ‘n’ roll through the Forgotten Coast in mankinis remains unhampered, praise Mystra.
