A few months after the release ofWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, the popularity of the game’s modding scene has notably increased, with a growing number of submissions on platforms like NexusMods. Unfortunately, however, while mods can allow players to customize their experience to suit their needs, some ofSpace Marine 2’s mods have also begun to cause notable issues for the game’s online modes, which has prompted the game’s developers to step in.
As announced in a message from game director Dmitriy Grigorenko on theSpace Marine 2forumsand reported byIGN,Space Marine 2’s next major update in December will be changing how mods are permitted to function in-game, most notably by effectively banning them from public matches. Mods, as noted in Grigorenko’s message, are apparently related to “a non-negligible amount of recent server stability issues” and have been reported to cause corrupted save files, even for players who had no mods installed but played with others who did.
How Using Mods Is Changing In Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2
Mods Won’t Be Allowed In Public Matchmaking After SM2’s Next Update
As of the game’s next major update, coming at an unspecified date in December,players who have mods installed will no longer be able to participate in public online game modes, cutting them off from online matchmaking for both Operations (PVE) and the Eternal War (PVP). Fortunately for mod users, though,mods will still be allowed in private lobbies. While Operations is currently the only game mode thatallows private lobbies, custom lobbies for Eternal War are planned for a later update and will also allow mods.
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Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 delivers a long overdue sequel, providing focused gameplay in spite of some minor narrative and technical gripes.
In addition to these changes, the announcement from Grigorenko also promises more support for mod creators, starting with “an easy entry point to our backend”, allowing easier access for modders after the game is patched. Later on, even more support for modding has been promised in the form of somepublicly released development tools for the game, which should allow for modders to make more creative and comprehensive mods with less difficulty.
Our Take: Space Marine 2’s Mod Changes Make Perfect Sense
Space Marine 2’s Mod Changes Help Un-modded Players While Still Supporting The Modding Scene
While it’s easy to be apprehensive about game developers stepping in where mods are concerned,the promised changes forSpace Marine 2make sense for an online multiplayer game. Although mods can be popular in their own right, it’s likely that the vast majority of players will never install one, so preventing their use in public matches both improves the stability of the experience and prevents regular players from potentially seeing mods that are immersion-breaking for theWarhammer 40ksetting.
Warhammer 40k: Space Marine 2’s Intro Hints At A Future Weapon DLC
Space Marine 2 has already received its first DLC weapon with the Neo-Volkite pistol, but there’s already evidence pointing to the next addition.
In light of the issues apparently caused by modding, though, it’s nice to see thatSpace Marine 2’s developers are still making active efforts to support it, even as they take steps to reduce the negative impact on the wider playerbase. With the promised release of development tools for modding, and support for private lobbies in both PVE and PVP, the modding scene forWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2is likely to see drastic improvements throughout the game’s lifespan without having a negative impact on the un-modded playerbase.
