The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Mod Tools Released

CD Projekt has announced the release of the mod kit for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on the game’s official website. The tools themselves are available on The Witcher 3 Nexus, a separate third-party community, but can be downloaded without registering to the website. A little on the tools from CD Projekt RED’s official website:

Released today, the Modkit enables Witcher community to modify several aspects of the game to their own liking. Thanks to texture import and export, gamers can now modify the looks and feel of in-game objects, while the possibility of substituting meshes allows to insert new models in the game world in place of existing ones. Finally, access to script files opens up an entirely new array or modification options to many in-game aspects, so modders can fire up their imagination and fiddle with item statistics and much more. In order to download the Modkit, head on over to nexusmods.com, the official home of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt mods where you can download the extractor itself as well as some of the exisiting mods. Don’t forget to check our forums for the Modkit documentation. We simply cannot wait to see all the fantastic creations from the modding community. Should you have any additional questions regarding the capabilities of the kit, make sure to check out GameSpot’s Q&A.

And a few more details from Gamespot’s Q&A:

Let’s go into some detail. What will players be able to do with the mod tools? Does it go beyond the cosmetic?

First of all, the modding tools we are releasing are not an editor. They’re meant for people who are somewhat experienced with modding software and are designed to make creating mods easier. They give access to game files and allow for easy extracting, compilation, and decompilation of resources. Beside visual changes, like modifying textures and models, they will allow to change UI assets and script files. The majority of gameplay-related mechanics are written in scripts. Having access to these scripts will allow to create even more ambitious and complex modifications. If you’re not a modder and you’re wondering about real life applications, in short, all this means that from now on, people will be able to put their own textures on models to make them feel more personal (or cool, or whatever they wish!), or, say, substitute Roach’s model with a unicorn (and ride it towards the setting sun). You will be able to use these mods when they get published. Also, we hope the community builds on these resources and, who knows, maybe some people who haven’t ever dreamt of modding will start doing so? There might be future devs among you!

While the turnaround was quicker this time around, it does sound like we’re dealing with significantly less powerful tools than the ones released for The Witcher and its sequel. From what I can understand by looking at the tools’ documentation and the wording in the GameSpot Q&A, this isn’t a full editor that can potentially allow players to create whole new questlines and areas, but rather a way to give modders an easier and more complete access to the game’s assets. 

Personally, I just hope this quicker release will get the attention of the modding community, which for the most part hasn’t shown much interest in the series.