Skyrim Anniversary Edition 'modpocalypse' partially averted by a key modder getting early access

Skyrim Anniversary Edition - A player in gold Dwemer armor rides a mechanical Dwemer hrose through Skyrim
(Image credit: Bethesda)

The latest named version of The Elder Scrolls V is now out in the wild as Skyrim Anniversary Edition. Which means that everyone can now get on with piecing back together their custom version of the game complete with all their favorite Skyrim mods installed. Mostly, anyhow. Skyrim Script Extender, one of the cornerstone mods required by many, many other Skyrim mods, was preparing for a full-on "modpocalypse." Fortunately, Bethesda gave early access to the Skyrim Anniversary Edition to the developers of SKSE, who say that the outlook for the Skyrim Special Edition modding scene is now "better than expected."

Last month, SKSE developer Extrwi posted a warning that the Skyrim Anniversary Edition would be "much more disruptive to the modding scene than is commonly believed." As is often the case with game modding, Skyrim mods can be an intricate Jenga tower. Your favorite mods may very well be the middle blocks in a tower of dependencies that rests atop the Skyrim Script Extender mod. Some major favorite Skyrim Special Edition mods such as SkyUI and Legacy of the Dragonborn both require SKSE, for instance.

Anticipating the modpocalypse, Extrwi predicted that they would be able to rush through a stopgap update to SKSE within a few nights, but that this wouldn't entirely solve the situation.

That's precisely what happened, it turns out, though fortunately it's been prior to the Skyrim AE update rather than after. Extrwi says in a new post that Bethesda gave them early access to the new version and that they've been spending all their free time for the last week and a half preparing for the Skyrim AE update.

Skyrim Anniversary Edition - A player rides on a white unicorn

(Image credit: Bethesda)

"Due to the large amount of manual code rewrite required for this release, the possibility for bugs is higher than usual," they say. "That said, things seem to be working better than expected."

This is still a quick fix version, and Extrwi reiterates from last month's post that other plugin mods are still going to require work from their own creators to remain compatible.

"If you have an existing mod setup on pre-AE that you would like to keep working, this is not a sign that you should upgrade and start using this version of SKSE," Extrwi says. "However, if you have already upgraded to AE and are feeling adventurous, then try this out."

The preliminary build script extender for Skyrim AE is now available over on the SKSE website. As Extrwi previously advised, the safest solution for dedicated modders is to stop your Skyrim Special Edition from downloading the free game update that's already begun happening today. If you didn't manage to prevent that update, the good news is that the Skyrim Special Edition modding scene is already taking steps towards stabilizing.

Lauren Morton
Associate Editor

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She accepted her role as Associate Editor in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.

Read more
A redhaired woman holds a sword in Maelstrom, one of the best Skyrim Special Edition mods
The best Skyrim Special Edition mods
A foppish figure stands in fine clothes and a strange red mask.
Hero modders take a break from their 25-year quest to make the rest of Morrowind to make the Oblivion we should have got instead
Skyblivion evil character
With the next Elder Scrolls and Fallout games still years away, here are 6 upcoming total conversion mods for Skyrim and Fallout 4 to get excited about
Skyblivion
Fan remake of Oblivion in Skyrim has a new video, looks amazing, is set for release 'this year,' and I struggle to imagine the rumoured official Oblivion remake doing much better
Skyblivion
Skyblivion only has one region of the map left to finish: 'We are nearly ready to release an entirely remastered Elder Scrolls game'
The Elder Scrolls 6 teaser trailer - the stylized logo "The Elder Scrolls VI" over a sweeping landscape of mountains and arid plains.
The Elder Scrolls 6: everything we know about the next return to Tamriel
Latest in RPG
Dancing Green in Final Fantasy 14.
Final Fantasy 14's latest raids have me fully convinced that Square Enix can still cook, even as job design lags behind
kingdom come deliverance 2 thunderstone quest
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's masterful quest design can be summed up by one wonderfully weird search for a magic stone
The heroes are attacked by monsters
Pillars of Eternity is getting turn-based combat to mark its 10th anniversary, and that means PC Gamer editors will soon be arguing about combat mechanics again
Junah beginning a battle in Metaphor: ReFantazio.
Today's RPG fans are 'very sensitive to feeling like they wasted time' when they die, says Metaphor: ReFantazio battle planner—but Atlus still made combat hard anyway
Image of Cersei Lanniser from Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Steam early access trailer
A new Game of Thrones RPG is coming to Steam today with a cast of 'familiar faces,' which is good because it's really the only way to tell it's a GoT game at all
A Viera looking confused in Final Fantasy 14.
Old armor continues to fall victim to Final Fantasy 14's bizarre two-channel dye system, unless you're super into changing the colour of teeny-tiny eyelets: 'Why even bother at this point?'
Latest in News
Kinich, a character in Genshin Impact, stands prepared to brawl with an enemy.
'Diabolical': Genshin Impact's English cast gives new VO the cold shoulder after he frames replacing a striking actor as an 'opportunity to carry the flame'
An image of Alan Wake from Alan Wake 2's rock opera-style song, Herald of Darkness, lifting a hand to the sky while the other bundles on his chest.
Epic’s 2025 Spring Sale kicks off with some big discounts on recent hits and a pair of cat-themed giveaways
An army of Grand Cathay, including infantry, cavalry, and warmachines, from the tabletop wargame Warhammer: The Old World.
After a not-so-subtle tease 2 months ago, and 4 years since it was originally announced, Grand Cathay from Total War: Warhammer 3 is finally coming to the tabletop wargame
1X Technologies humanoid robot, the Neo Gamma, standing alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. Huang is wearing an ERL-made studded leather jacket.
Humanoid robot Neo Gamma gifts Nvidia CEO a studded leather jacket and may even be able to one day wash up a cup without dropping it
Crysis hero Prophet running down a beach while under fire
Crysis Remastered Trilogy activates maximum value mode as upgraded version of the legendary, hardware-crushing FPS series is currently 60% off
A goblin with sharp teeth, wearing goggles, lets out a mischievous cackle in WoW's latest patch: Undermine(d).
World of Warcraft's started swiping good ideas from one of its most popular user-made UI addons, and it's honestly about time