Bethesda is patching Fallout 4 and Skyrim, so check your mod load orders now

Bethesda announced on August 14th that patches are coming to both Fallout 4 and Skyrim. The Fallout 4 update lands first on August 18th, focused on general Creations improvements, while the Skyrim patch is listed as coming soon with more details to follow once the studio has ironed out specifics.

Bethesda is urging players to log into their game saves and manually save their load orders before the updates hit. Once saved, the full Creations list can be re-downloaded in one go after the patch goes live. The studio hasn't detailed exactly what's changing beyond the Creations focus, but veteran Fallout 4 modder Thomas Otellino Mitchell flagged on social media that mods relying on script extenders are the most likely to need updates — that includes animation mods and interface overhauls like the widely-used SkyUI.

The announcement triggered immediate flashbacks to Fallout 4's anniversary update and its next-gen patch, the latter of which famously delayed the release of the large fan-made Fallout London mod. Those were significantly more disruptive updates, though — these Creations-focused patches appear smaller in scope. Script extenders have historically been updated quickly after new game versions drop, which limits the downtime for most mod setups to the window between the patch and the extender catching up.

For now, the safest move is to save your load order before August 18th and keep an eye on the script extender projects for Skyrim and Fallout 4 after the patches land.