Bethesda Game Studios is rolling out a new update for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition on Thursday, August 20, with console modders getting one of the most notable improvements. The upcoming patch will increase console mod storage limits while also introducing additional improvements to Skyrim’s Creations system.
In brief
- Skyrim Special Edition receives a new update on August 20
- Console mod storage limits will be increased
- Bethesda is bringing additional improvements to Creations
- Existing load orders should remain unaffected, according to Bethesda
The biggest change confirmed for the August 20 Skyrim Special Edition update is an increase to console mod storage limits. Bethesda has not yet specified exactly how much additional storage Xbox and PlayStation players will receive, so the final limits remain unclear ahead of the patch.
The change should give console players more room for mods and Creations, something that has historically been much more restricted compared to PC. When Skyrim Special Edition originally launched, Bethesda allocated 5 GB of mod storage on Xbox One and just 1 GB on PlayStation 4.
And for players running larger mod lists, the increased storage could make it easier to install additional quests, weapons, armor, visual upgrades, and other community-made content without constantly managing available space.
More Skyrim Creations Improvements Are Coming
Bethesda also confirmed that the patch will bring further Creations improvements, although the studio has not provided a complete breakdown of those changes yet.
The Creations platform serves as Bethesda’s integrated system for finding and downloading community-created content within Skyrim Special Edition, including both free and paid content.
Will the Skyrim Update Break Load Orders?
According to Bethesda, the August 20 update should not affect existing load orders. However, the developer is still recommending that players open their save game before installing the update if they have not played Skyrim in some time.
It is essentially a precaution for anyone with a heavily modded setup. Players may want to make sure their saves and current mod configurations are accessible before updating.
Bethesda has not yet shared the complete Skyrim Special Edition August 20 patch notes, so additional changes and the exact new console storage limits should become clearer once the update is deployed.
Full Patch Notes:
Added and Updated Features
Game
- Increased mod storage to 15 GB for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox.
Due to differences in platform storage systems, PlayStation 4 Creation storage is changed in the following ways: Creations storage expanded to approximately 16 GB, but download size may not match space used because of technical details of the PlayStation 4 console hardware; This may cause download size vs. installed size discrepancies. Storage usage may appear larger than expected when managing Creations; Due to the storage system partitions, PS4 users may experience a practical limit on the number of large Creations installed at once.
- Added localized strings fixes for UI and platform terminology.
- A Creation’s Details page now includes instructions on how to report abusive or problematic mods.
- Added bundling of Creations in the Skyrim Creations Menu to bring it to parity with Fallout and Starfield.
- Changed storefront UI to support Creations box art at 3640 x 900 and 900 x 506 to be consistent with Starfield and Fallout 4. Older image sizes will still be supported and do not require immediate resubmission.
- Added support to sort Creation categories by “Most Popular”.
- Creations flagged as WIP can now be viewed when bookmarked.
Creation Kit
- Added Localization export support.
- Updated “Search and Replace” to align with Starfield, adding buttons for “Select Form in Object Window” and “Open Form Editor”.
- Creation Kit will now allow multiple master loads by default. This can be configured as normal.
- Skyrim Creations released through the Verified Creators program will have the option to be Achievement-Friendly (Xbox) and Trophy-Friendly (PlayStation). This means that certain Creations will no longer block achievements, but it requires starting a new game for this functionality to work on updated Creations.
- Bink files can now be added to Creation uploads via an Extra Files browser.
- Expanding beyond scripts, archives are now supported on PlayStation. New file types are available (.nif, .dds, .bink, .wav, and .fuz (with embedded .wav)) for PlayStation Creations.
Crashes
Game
- Fixed a crash when the player opens the Virtual Keyboard on a Steam Deck device.
- Fixed a crash when the player ‘selects’ an empty search result in the Creations menu.
- Fixed a crash when the player transforms into a new race.
Creation Kit
- Fixed a crash when the player closes the dialogue for a Sound Descriptor.
- Fixed a crash when analyzing loot in a new encounter zone.
- Fixed a crash when clicking the Make Use Info button on some menus.
- Fixed a crash that can occur when reloading a mod without an associated Masterfile.
Bug Fixes
Game
- Free Creations from Verified Creators now correctly appear in the Verified Creators category within the store.
- Exiting out of Search when viewing a specific Creation now properly returns the player to the Details page of that Creation.
- Fixed an issue where installed Creations would sometimes display the incorrect version number while on the pause menu.
- Creations titles should now display with fewer misformatted characters.
- Resolved an issue where the Creations store would not always update visual pricing when Creations were placed on sale when a player had not changed menus.
- Resolved an issue where Anniversary Edition Creations failed to auto-download on PlayStation 5.
- Search strings will no longer clip through text when searching for Creations,
- The Verified Creator category should now correctly sort by latest and not alphabetical order.
- Enabling an item in Load Order should now more consistently stick when selected.
- Deleting all Creations now only clears mods downloaded from the Store and not those loaded via other means.
- Uploading or restoring a Load Order containing a mod or Creation no longer available on the Marketplace should no longer fail.
- Uploading or restoring a Load Order containing many mods should no longer fail.
- The Creations store should now load more efficiently.
Creation Kit
- Creation Kit now forces consistent capitalization of platform-specific .bsa binaries to avoid runtime errors.
- Archiving new forms in a plugin which relies on pre-existing assets will no longer cause the pre-existing form to duplicate within the plugin.
- Fixed an issue where Creation submission can improperly tag a file as a Masterfile causing infinite data reload.
- Cell forms should now populate correctly across all tabs when accessed via the Cell View window.
- Altered forms will no longer count as new forms when creating a plugin.
- Using the Create Archives or Upload process should more consistently apply correct compression to meshes/miscellaneous archives.
- Browsing ids in the World Spaces window should no longer alter the forms.
- Resolved error message pop-up when attempting to open the Creation Kit while Bethesda.net services were offline.
Miscellaneous
- Updated the game credits.
