In the last five years, Games Workshop has solidified their role as the defender of everything Warhammer. They’ve warned, sued, and battled many — instilling fear in anyone who comes close to tainting their beloved intellectual property. You can imagine my astonishment when Creative Assembly announced that they’ve received permission to allow mods for the new Total War: Warhammer game.
Few realize how insane this actually is.
If you’re unaware of it, the modding community is a big part of the Total War series. Mods that change textures and add new races are ubiquitous, and are often well-received by the community. However, despite initially seeming like good news, even fewer realize the limitations placed on the type of content Games Workshop is allowing.
In a blog post from Creative Assembly, they’ve made it very apparent that modders should only create content that:
- Does not include or altar content in a way that is offensive or denigrating to the World of Warhammer Fantasy Battles.
- Only includes Warhammer Fantasy Battles content. Other IPs like Age of Sigmar or Warhammer 40,000 are separate, and are licensed to other companies.
- Does not charge or ask for money. Okay, this is actually a good one.
More information about the Content Creator policy can be found here.
I could totally see those guys becoming reskinned Naz’guls.
So although I’m saddened to put a damper on your Warhammer mod fantasies, don’t go expecting to see a Lord of the Rings overhaul anytime soon.
However, it’s worth noting that this is only enforced on mods available on the Steam Workshop.
Regardless of the degree of mod support, content creators have always found innovative ways to bypass policies. Your fantasy of seeing a Third Age recreation mod, is descendant upon how much in-game content can actually be modified or redesigned, as well as whether or not Games Workshop decides to engage in legal action against sites that allow for player-made content. If all goes well, your fantasy may still very well be alive.
Pictured above is the supported mod selection client.
Currently, two mods are being worked and are officially supported by Creative Assembly. These mods will be available on release.
- Magnar is working on a Legendary Lord Start Position Mod that customizes starting positions for the Legendary Lords.
- Dresden is designing a Regional Occupation Mod that alters settlement rules, enabling each race to settle any region.
I won’t lie and say I’m not excited to see legitimate mods that improve playability and graphics, but I’m more excited to see pink Orcs and baton-wielding Chaos infantry — the type of content I often associate with Steam modders.
