"All the mods are curated by us, so we can push them directly without going through some form of certification process via Microsoft, because obviously, that would be too long."Īmong the first to ship mods on Xbox One with success, Giants Software has bolstered an already thriving component of Farming Simulator.
"We proved what we have on the IT side, show that we're safe, have good servers, and have mod curation – something that is key." Giants Software cooked with a deal with Microsoft to handle curation internally, vital to making mods feasible. "For modding on the console, we had to explain to Microsoft that we can deliver mods of quality with security," Le Tensorer clarifies. Democratizing content creation still comes with significant risk, battling with the rigorous certification process enforced on Xbox One software. While still far from commonplace, modding has injected new vitality well-beyond studio expectations.
Microsoft is at the forefront of console mods, often giving developers increased flexibility over the PlayStation 4. "We had to explain to Microsoft that we can deliver mods of quality with security." Giants Software is now among the few experimenting with full-fledged third-party console mods, alongside Bethesda and Paradox Interactive. Highly-curated and polished content are fundamentals on a console, yet Farming Simulator 17 become one of few modifiable games, exploiting the shared architecture of current-generation consoles and PC. After securing roots on PC, modding on console has established a key differentiator for the series.