Fallout 4 Next-Gen Update Breaks Crucial Mod, but Players Have Found Workarounds

Bethesda unleashed Fallout 4’s next-gen update today and, as feared, it’s broken one of its most important mods.

Many mods have been impacted by the update, including the all-too-useful Fallout 4 Script Extender (F4SE). As explained on its Nexus Mods page, F4SE is a foundational modding resource that extends scripting capabilities without permanent side effects. A wide variety of mods rely on the project to work at all, so without it, modifying Fallout 4 gets a lot more complicated.

“The 2024-04-25 Fallout 4 update (1.10.980 and later) has broken F4SE and the rest of the native code modding scene similarly to Skyrim’s ‘Anniversary Edition’ patch,” F4SE developer ianpatt said in a post. “I am working on an update and cannot currently offer a timeline for its availability, nor whether there will be any critical technical issues that would block an update. Do not email with questions.”

Unveiled more than eight years after the game’s initial launch, Bethesda’s Fallout 4 next-gen update adds performance improvements, Creation Club content, and more. It’s an exciting moment for a franchise that many have recently returned to thanks to the Prime Video series, and players have already found ways to keep the update from ruining their modding fun.

The F4SE comments section on Nexus Mods includes a laundry list of walkthroughs that show users how they can turn off auto-updates and even how to roll back the new update. User Destructionares posted a walkthrough that tells players exactly how they can revert the update if they weren’t able to stop it from going through today.

Additionally, GameRevolution shared a walkthrough for those who haven’t downloaded the update yet, and there’s another helpful post on the Nexus Mods website. Unfortunately, unless you’re willing to stand by with the base Fallout 4 experience while mod updates eventually roll out, the only way to play with mods is by reverting the update or by being lucky enough to have not updated the game at all.

Although players are already finding workarounds, it’s not just your average mods facing the fallout of Bethesda’s next-gen update. The enormously popular Fallout London mod, which adds new story elements, locations, and much more, was originally set to release earlier this week. However, when the Fallout 4 update was announced to arrive today, Team Folon was forced to delay its project. No new release date has been announced, as it’s unclear how long it will take the team to compensate for Bethesda’s changes.

For more on Fallout 4, check out why we think the fourth mainline entry in Bethesda’s post-apocalyptic RPG franchise is worth revisiting. You can also check out exactly what the Folon team thinks about Bethesda’s new update here.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

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