Fallout 4’s Anniversary Edition nuked my mods — and Bethesda’s fix timeline worries me

Fallout 4’s Anniversary Edition: Why This Actually Matters

I was ready to jump back into the Commonwealth this week, but Fallout 4’s Anniversary Edition launch flipped the modding scene on its head. Released on November 10, the update broke a huge number of popular mods and sparked a wave of frustrated reviews on PC-only about 41% of recent user scores are positive from more than 4,500 submissions. Bethesda says a hotfix is coming next week, followed by two patches-the week of November 24 and another in the first half of December-but the studio also warns fuller fixes will take longer. Translation: if you mod, it’s time to wait.

Key takeaways

• Many essential mods are broken; some players report issues even after stripping add-ons.
• Bethesda plans a hotfix next week, then patches in late November and early December.
• The $59.99/£52.99 price (or $39.99/£35.99 upgrade) is a tough sell while Creations remain buggy.
• If you’ve been planning a modded playthrough, hold off until the patch dust settles.

The real story: script extenders, address breaks, and déjà vu

This isn’t just a handful of cosmetic tweaks failing to load. Fallout 4’s mod scene leans heavily on F4SE (the Fallout 4 Script Extender) and plugins that hook into specific runtime addresses. When Bethesda updates the executable, those addresses shift and the entire Jenga tower wobbles. That’s why core mods like Mod Configuration Menu, LooksMenu, Place Everywhere, and big overhauls (think Sim Settlements 2) can suddenly implode until their maintainers recompile or adjust for the new runtime.

If this sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve been here before—recently. The April 2024 next-gen update broke so much that the massive fan project Fallout: London delayed by months. Before that, Skyrim’s Anniversary Edition in 2021 detonated SKSE-dependent plugins and forced the community into a weeks-long scramble. Bethesda keeps tying new content drops to executable updates, and every time it happens, modders have to rebuild the plane mid-flight.

What’s different this time is the timing and the scope. I’ve seen reports of instability even from players who wiped their load orders, which suggests base-level issues beyond just mod incompatibilities. Meanwhile, mod authors—understandably—don’t want to push quick fixes if Bethesda plans multiple patches in the next few weeks that could change the runtime again.

Patch timeline: helpful, but not reassuring

Bethesda says a hotfix lands next week and two more patches follow—one the week of November 24 and another in the first half of December. The studio also notes larger updates will take longer and promises to “provide an overview of these patches soon.” That’s welcome transparency, but it also means modders are staring at a moving target through the end of the year. Every new patch risks re-breaking F4SE plugins until the final executable settles.

If I’m a mod author, I wait. If I’m a player with a heavily curated load order, I absolutely wait. Bethesda could make everyone’s life easier by offering a “stable branch” on PC that decouples Creations from the core runtime (or at least freezes the executable), but in the absence of that, we’re likely in for a month of version whiplash.

Price vs. value: $59.99 for DLC + 150 Creations isn’t an easy sell right now

The Anniversary Edition bundles all DLC and 150 Creation Club items for $59.99/£52.99, or $39.99/£35.99 as an upgrade. On paper, that’s a lot of content. In practice, user reviews for the Creations bundle are rough (around 23% positive), citing broken quests, an overreliance on cosmetics, and the headache of manually installing items one by one. Even as someone who appreciates curated content, “click 150 times to enable everything” isn’t a great first impression.

If you already own the DLC and rely on community mods for visual overhauls, weapon packs, survival tweaks, and quest content, the value proposition gets murky fast. The free mod ecosystem on Fallout 4 is ridiculously strong; paying $40 just to complicate it mid-patch-cycle doesn’t feel smart. For console players who don’t live in mod managers, the bundle may eventually be fine—but the reports of broken Creations suggest waiting for those patches anyway.

What gamers should do right now

• If you mod: don’t update or launch the game until you’re ready. Back up your current Fallout 4 install and saves. If you already updated, avoid building a new load order until after the December patch lands.
• New or returning players: if you want a smooth first run, consider holding off on buying the Anniversary Edition until Bethesda’s next two patches arrive and mod authors weigh in.
• Test smart: use a separate profile in your mod manager (Vortex/MO2) and try a short, low-stakes session before committing to a 100-hour survival run.
• Manage expectations: each patch could temporarily break F4SE-dependent plugins again. Watch for updates from your must-have mods before jumping back in.

Looking ahead

The irony is that Fallout 4 remains one of Bethesda’s best sandboxes precisely because the community turned it into a platform. Right now, the Anniversary Edition feels like it forgot that. If Bethesda sticks this patch landing and offers a steadier executable going forward, the AE could become the definitive way to play. But today? It’s a hard recommendation—especially at full price—until the hotfix arrives, the late-November patch settles, and the early-December update proves it won’t reshuffle the deck again.

TL;DR

Fallout 4’s Anniversary Edition launched with broken mods and shaky Creations, and the fixes are staggered over the next few weeks. If you care about a stable, modded playthrough—or just don’t want to babysit patches—wait until after the December update before diving back in or buying the upgrade.