Paradox Interactive Joins Forces with Microsoft to Launch Paradox Mods, A New Independant Modding Platform for Xbox One and PC

[Ge0force]

During my discussions about the restrictions of uwp games, many Xbox fans have told me that modding isn't important at all and that only a minority of people is using it. So I really can't see why this is massive at all.

Spoiler

/s

Of course this is great! But it shouldn't be the ONLY way to mod uwp games.

 

[Remo Williams]

does sony allow mods on the ps4?

hopefully this is just the start and we see more and more mods on consoles. would love to see what people would add to halo or fable

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Yes, although they are more restrictive.

 

[BeI]

Xbox seems to be doing a lot of these peripheral initiatives recently. Sounds like it's building to something possibly very cool for next gen.

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Slowly gaining all the stuff that made PC gaming special. Maybe 30 / 60 fps modes for games will be standard next-gen.

 

[BringBackSonics]

Very limited mods. Nothing like PC or xbox, but better than nothing. I think MS sees this as an easy selling point for xbox going forward- all the fun lunacy previously exclusive to PC gaming with the cost structure/ease of use of a console.

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If I can get Star Trek: New Horizons mod on Stellaris for Xbox One, I'd likely not be returning to the PC for awhile heh.

 

[Ge0force]

Their positive comments on the Epic Games Store + integration with Steam Workshop often being cited as the reason it would never happen, basically. I mean, I'm only speculating, I don't mean it as a cynical statement or anything.

And Paradox has a large enough niche fanbase that would actually follow them wherever they decide to distribute their games.

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It's more likely that future Paradox games are going to be exclusive to their own launcher. Unless Epic pays A LOT of money of course. ;)

 

[crazillo]

Not surprised seeing this after Skyrim mods were a lot better accessible on Xbox One than PS4. A no brainer where to buy future games of Paradox as mods are really important component to their games.

 

[SaberVS7]

Yeah this, Paradox has their own launcher IIRC and store. If their cut on Steam isn't enough for them they already have their own 100% Cut store, so why would they go EGS exclusive?

 

[LewieP]

Very confused about why people think this news is somehow related to Epic. It would be cool to have Paradox games on Epic store, but I can't see them pulling their games from Steam or their own launcher any time soon. They're a pretty customer focused company.

During my discussions about the restrictions of uwp games, many Xbox fans have told me that modding isn't important at all and that only a minority of people is using it. So I really can't see why this is massive at all.

Spoiler

/s

Of course this is great! But it shouldn't be the ONLY way to mod uwp games.

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I don't see any mention of UWP in this announcement. I think it's just for Xbox One and then for Paradox Launcher/GOG on PC. At least for now.

 

[Lashley]

This is awesome, although it'll be funny to see the UWP defenders back track on how important mods are to people.

 

[Madjoki]

Yeah this, Paradox has their own launcher IIRC and store. If their cut on Steam isn't enough for them they already have their own 100% Cut store, so why would they go EGS exclusive?

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Because Epic pays for exclusives? Majority of their income comes from Steam, so they can't just abandon it.

 

[Ge0force]

I don't see any mention of UWP in this announcement. I think it's just for Xbox One and then for Paradox Launcher/GOG on PC. At least for now.

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I assume Microsoft will use the same technology for mods for their own games as well? Anyway, the fact that it works with Paradox' win32 games may be another indication that MS will drop uwp for their games.

 

[TheTrain]

It's a qol improvement for the mod on consoles and a way to centralize everything on a proprietary platform. Nothing bad out of this, just to be clear. It's a threat to the nexus (Related to their games, event tho they can't prevent the upload of the mod out there...) at this point, not so much at steam.

I'm already tired of reading about epic in every thread

 

[Deleted member 4761]

Great initiative.

 

[koutoru]

This is great to see. Hopefully in the future PlayStation will be open to more expansive mod support as well.

 

[eonden]

If I can get Star Trek: New Horizons mod on Stellaris for Xbox One, I'd likely not be returning to the PC for awhile heh.

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Why would you do that when the console version is gonna be a gimped 1.7.x? At least wait until it gets to 2.0.x

 

[Kyougar]

Their positive comments on the Epic Games Store + integration with Steam Workshop often being cited as the reason it would never happen, basically. I mean, I'm only speculating, I don't mean it as a cynical statement or anything.

And Paradox has a large enough niche fanbase that would actually follow them wherever they decide to distribute their games.

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Paradox had to back down two times recently because their fanbase WASN't taking any shit that they thought was detrimental to the Image Paradox build up for 2 decades.

 

[BringBackSonics]

Why would you do that when the console version is gonna be a gimped 1.7.x? At least wait until it gets to 2.0.x

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True, not right away, more of a long term thing

 

[eonden]

Paradox had to back down two times recently because their fanbase WASN't taking any shit that they thought was detrimental to the Image Paradox build up for 2 decades.

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I mean, not only that but the feedback from the last EU4 expansion probably changed the future plans of EU4, as the next expansion seems to be focused on a major European rework as well as working on a lot of technical debt that has been acumulated for a while in the game.

True, not right away, more of a long term thing

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Just in case, I didnt want to sound aggressive. Hopefully they also bring controller support to PC for those weirdos that like it (as the UI changes are based on the Console edition).

 

[SaberVS7]

Paradox had to back down two times recently because their fanbase WASN't taking any shit that they thought was detrimental to the Image Paradox build up for 2 decades.

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Also this.

The only way Paradox could pull off a controversial move like going EGS-Exclusive for whatever stupid reason (instead of pushing their own launcher which they have) is with a game that's truly revolutionary for Grand Strategy. Like, a Victoria 3 that more than lives up to the expectations behind it.

Because uh, unfortunately for Paradox, their best games are already out and their newer games have been on a trajectory of dumbing-down and/or launching in de-facto Early Access states that don't feel complete until at least 2+ years of DLC.

So yeah, if Paradox did something as monumentally stupid as switching to EGS with a title that's par for the course with their current offerings, their fanbase will just stick with the current paradigm of CK2/EU4/Vic2/HoI4.

I mean, shit, most of the hardcore Hearts of Iron fanbase still swears by HoI3 and Darkest Hour over HoI4. Paradox fans aren't strangers to holding out on a new Paradox game until they feel the new one is in an acceptable state - Being exclusive to Epic's half-broken resource-hog store would be yet another example.

 

[OutForTheNight2]

During my discussions about the restrictions of uwp games, many Xbox fans have told me that modding isn't important at all and that only a minority of people is using it. So I really can't see why this is massive at all.

Spoiler

/s

Of course this is great! But it shouldn't be the ONLY way to mod uwp games.

[/QUOTE

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Lmfao, I'm just remembering this. Hurr durr Microsoft wants to protect the PC gamers with UWP so no modding for you.

Modding comes to Xbox and possibly UWP games,
OMG this is so huge. This will affect steam so much

 

[BeI]

Man, Microsoft is moving so many chesspieces on the PC side I have no idea anymore what their endgame is. Lol.

If this comes close to Steam Workshop then I'm really happy.

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Do lots of games have mods through the Steam workshop?

Do they ever put stuff like fixes for PC games in the workshop?

 

[Hella]

Do lots of games have mods through the Steam workshop?

Do they ever put stuff like fixes for PC games in the workshop?

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Tons of games do, yeah. Big and small.

In terms of "fixes", I think it's generally more like tweaks. This can range from UI mods, to gameplay alterations (making it easier or harder), to, yes, straight-up bug fixes. It's very flexible and modular, so you can stack on a bunch of mods at once. Mods only get dicey when they try to mod the same part of the game.

 

[eonden]

Do lots of games have mods through the Steam workshop?

Do they ever put stuff like fixes for PC games in the workshop?

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Yeah that is 997 games that have Steam Workshop support.

EU4, HoI4,CK2 and Stellaris are all Paradox Studios IPs, and you can see how many mods they have.
CK2 and EU4 have lower amount as they came before Paradox gave that much information about mods and the Workshop was full steam ahead.

About patches, there are some games that have fanmade patches (like Vampire the Masquerade) but that has dropped with time and they are mostly in games that the developer wouldnt allow for those things so they wouldnt be available in Steam.

Currently Steam has also allowed total conversion mods (Enderal for Skyrim for instance was just released) as a "sub" in Steam, so that players can both have that downloaded and have another "Skyrim" they can play at the same time (without having to reset saves or mods). NOTE: this requires the permission of the developer (that is Bethesda in this case).

 

[ArnoldJRimmer]

The vast majority of the audience for their games is on Steam, I wonder if any significant amount of mods will make it to their workshop.

 

[Aaron D.]

This is Massive. and Something I can totally see other gaming companies moving away from Steam and working with Microsoft

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If I can get Star Trek: New Horizons mod on Stellaris for Xbox One, I'd likely not be returning to the PC for awhile heh.

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LOL, why does it feel like you're out to snipe Steam, OP?

You do realize the golden age (CK2 thru Stellaris) of PDX's success sits squarely on the shoulders of Steam users, right?

 

[BeI]

Tons of games do, yeah. Big and small.

In terms of "fixes", I think it's generally more like tweaks. This can range from UI mods, to gameplay alterations (making it easier or harder), to, yes, straight-up bug fixes. It's very flexible and modular, so you can stack on a bunch of mods at once. Mods only get dicey when they try to mod the same part of the game.

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I've only really stuck with Nexus for games thus far. Would be nice though if there could be a workshop area specifically for game fixes though, rather than having to Google whenever something goes wrong. Like for instance, you could click a button onDark Souls' game page and automatically have DSfix downloaded into your game directory.

 

[tyfon]

As long as I can still get the same mods for my linux steam versions of the games I'm happy.
If this makes mods become unavailable to me I'm done with Paradox, but considering their excellent support for linux so far I'm optimistic.

The console mods are cool, hopefully it will spread to the other consoles as well.

 

[eonden]

I've only really stuck with Nexus for games thus far. Would be nice though if there could be a workshop area specifically for game fixes though, rather than having to Google whenever something goes wrong. Like for instance, you could click a button onDark Souls' game page and automatically have DSfix downloaded into your game directory.

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That would be the dream. Sadly, I dont think a lot of developers would want to promote that their game is broken. Some developers did re-release with fan patches that greatly improved the game but they are sadly the minority.

For other stuff:
https://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/Dark_Souls:_Prepare_to_Die_Edition

This wiki tends to have the solution for most problems.

 

[BringBackSonics]

LOL, why does it feel like you're out to snipe Steam, OP?

You do realize the golden age (CK2 thru Stellaris) of PDX's success sits squarely on the shoulders of Steam users, right?

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Yes? I've sunk thousands of hours into paradox games. I'd just like a couch experience ( I realize there are ways to be able to play PC games on my TV).

 

[Turin Turambar]

The vast majority of the audience for their games is on Steam, I wonder if any significant amount of mods will make it to their workshop.

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Well, it's literally the only place where they can buy their games, right? So of course their audience is on Steam. They don't have any other choice.

 

[Fredrik]

Man, Microsoft is moving so many chesspieces on the PC side I have no idea anymore what their endgame is. Lol.

If this comes close to Steam Workshop then I'm really happy.

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One ecosystem, Windows and Xbox completely merged, is my guess. Essentially one platform just with different entry points depending on how much you want to spend.

Great stuff!

Not a favorite game for me but not having to pay a single cent extra than the Gamepass sub on Xbox and get CD3 at 60+ fps on three screens on PC is quite neat indeed! :)

 

[ArnoldJRimmer]

Well, it's literally the only place where they can buy their games, right? So of course their audience is on Steam. They don't have any other choice.

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Aren't their games also available on GOG?

 

[Hella]

Aren't their games also available on GOG?

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And Origin.

...and Paradox's own store, lol.

 

[JD3Nine]

Well, it's literally the only place where they can buy their games, right? So of course their audience is on Steam. They don't have any other choice.

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Aren't their games also available on GOG?

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They also have there own store / launcher.

Edit: haha beaten.

 

[Decado]

How will the impact the design of mods? Does this mean everything created for a game has to be tested on Xbox and be limited to its hardware?

Is content going to be screened?

 

[tyfon]

Aren't their games also available on GOG?

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And their own store.
Many people buy it there to give them the 30% extra, but when I do I always register it with steam anyway for steam workshop.

Edit: That is except for Surviving Mars for PS4, I actually prefer to play it there for some reason. I bought it for linux too though ;)
Edit2: Adding quote and I'm going to lie down a bit.. My head isn't working today.. I realised I hadn't actually posted before the first "edit"..

 

[christocolus]

Man, Microsoft is moving so many chesspieces on the PC side I have no idea anymore what their end game is.

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can't wait to see what they have planned for next gen. Scarlet will be interesting though..

 

[SuikerBrood]

One ecosystem, Windows and Xbox completely merged, is my guess. Essentially one platform just with different entry points depending on how much you want to spend.

Great stuff!

Not a favorite game for me but not having to pay a single cent extra than the Gamepass sub on Xbox and get CD3 at 60+ fps on three screens on PC is quite neat indeed! :)

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Now that's a screenshot.

 

[BringBackSonics]

How will the impact the design of mods? Does this mean everything created for a game has to be tested on Xbox and be limited to its hardware?

Is content going to be screened?

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Not 100% sure, but on the image I uploaded, it says upload your own mods.

 

[StereoVSN]

Overtly cynical perhaps, but is this a precursor to an Epic Store exclusivity deal for Imperator or something

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At this point I wouldn't be surprised. I hope they won't put mods from Steam though.

 

[PC-tan]

This reminds me of when Bethesda did the same. Reactions are different though.

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Isn't the difference that what Bethesda was doing was "payed mods", people on Steam hated it and they got rid of it but then they brought it back with their creation system thing.

I don't know much about these games but aren't these mods free unlike what Bethesda did? Or am I remembering it wrong?

 

[Windu]

One ecosystem, Windows and Xbox completely merged, is my guess. Essentially one platform just with different entry points depending on how much you want to spend.

Great stuff!

Not a favorite game for me but not having to pay a single cent extra than the Gamepass sub on Xbox and get CD3 at 60+ fps on three screens on PC is quite neat indeed! :)

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I can I guess understand using the old keyboard still. mechanical keys and all. but a old trackball mouse?

 

[StereoVSN]

I assume Microsoft will use the same technology for mods for their own games as well? Anyway, the fact that it works with Paradox' win32 games may be another indication that MS will drop uwp for their games.

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That would be just amazing. Now if MS could disassociate the game store on Windows from the OS that would be even better.

 

[mutantmagnet]

This is a big deal for me. No chance I'll get all 3 consoles but if the mod community is there for non-paradox games it would be a serious value add that can't easily be ignored.

 

[BringBackSonics]

Isn't the difference that what Bethesda was doing was "payed mods", people on Steam hated it and they got rid of it but then they brought it back with their creation system thing.

I don't know much about these games but aren't these mods free unlike what Bethesda did? Or am I remembering it wrong?

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Yes the original blow up was people were upset that these were paid mods. currently none of the paradox mods are paid mods.

 

[BringBackSonics]

Nice little blurb, Also for those worried if Paradox/MS have to review the mods first, the video says its a open modding platform.

 

[AncientReptileBrain]

Stellaris Console does *not* have mod support.

There isn't an Xbox icon on the Stellaris panel in the picture in the op, for example.

 

[rtv190]

FUCK YEA, TIME TO PLAY MORE CITIES SKYLINES.

 

[Siresly]

Cool. Hopefully next Microsoft will be bringing mods to PC and allowing PC users to buy games without paying extra for the Xbox version.

 

[Akai]

Really hope this gets expanded. Games like Halo would incredibly benefit from this.