Mods are always a fun way to shake up a game, but have traditionally only been featured on PC, with a few exceptions. Now, however, a new leaked Microsoft presentation seems to assert that the company is working on bringing mod support to its Xbox platform, and it could be just a few weeks away.

The leaked presentation walked through Microsoft's plan to bring mods and UGC (user-generated content) to the Xbox platform. Developers would maintain complete control over what constitutes a mod for their titles, as well as monetization. This means developers could allow users to do things as simple as re-texturing weapons and adding additional items to the game, or as complex as creating all-new campaigns and maps.

The mod support page would be similar Steam's Community Workshop – that is, a separate page where users can share their mods with their friends and the Steam community. Microsoft's mod page would allow similar features, granting users the ability to rate and share mods they enjoy with their circle of friends. This would make modding more of a social experience, giving players more opportunities for water-cooler conversations with their friends whenever something neat happens thanks to a mod they installed.

The leaked presentation is from earlier this year and states that dev kits should be going out in March, meaning developers have already had three months to tinker with support for games. The presentation goes on to say that mod support would be coming later this Summer, which means the feature may be just a few weeks away. Of course, there's always the possibility that the feature has been delayed, but it's best to remain positive.

Mods have only been attempted on consoles a handful of times, with the most recent, and successful, being Bethesda's integration for Skyrim and Fallout 4. While the mod integration has been neat, it only allowed support for a limited number of fairly rudimentary mods. Another thing to point out is the fact that mods disable the ability to earn achievements in both titles, something Microsoft didn't address in their presentation. Whether that will be true with all titles remains to be seen, but it could come with some complaints from the modding community.

Microsoft will have to be careful to ensure that mods are handled responsibly. The idea of paid mods is sure to upset many members of the community, just as it did when Steam tried to integrate it in the Community Workshop. Regardless, this is a major step in the right direction. Microsoft appears to be working to introduce PC features to the Xbox while at the same time maintaining the convenience afforded by consoles. Hopefully, it will continue to do so in the future.

Source:Windows Central