Advanced Strategies for Customizing Games on Steam

Quick Links

• What Is the Steam Workshop?
• How to Find the Steam Workshop for a Specific Game
• How to Install a Steam Workshop Mod
• How to Save Steam Workshop Mods
• How to Remove Mods From a Game on Steam
• Can Steam Workshop Mods Contain Malware?

Key Takeaways

• The Steam Workshop allows players to download and install mods for compatible games with automatic updates.
• Games with a dedicated modding community usually have Steam Workshop support.
• Steam Workshop mods are generally safe, but there have been rare instances of malware being distributed through mods.

Mods are the perfect way to extend the life of a game that you’ve already played extensively. So here’s how to mod your Steam games using the Steam Workshop.

What Is the Steam Workshop?

The Steam Workshop is an official service provided by Valve and integrated into the Steam client. It was set up to allow people to easily publish and download mods for their favorite games without requiring any technical expertise. And it’s one of the reasons why all PC gamers should use Steam .

Not every game will be compatible with the Steam Workshop. For a game to use it, the developer has to enable it and set it up to work with their game. However, games with a dedicated modding community will usually have Steam Workshop set up for it.

If a game has Steam Workshop enabled, you can browse the mods the community has uploaded for it and download them with a single click. The mods automatically install themselves, so you don’t need any modding knowledge to use the Steam Workshop. All you need to do is subscribe to it, and Steam does the rest.

Best of all, the Steam Workshop uses the same automatic update technology that it uses for its games. Whenever a mod gets an update, it will arrive on your PC without you needing to lift a finger.

How to Find the Steam Workshop for a Specific Game

To check if a game you own has a Steam Workshop page, go to your Steam library and click on the game. Look for theWorkshop category in the bar displayed under thePlay button; if you can see it, your game is compatible with the Steam Workshop. Click on it to visit that game’s page on the Steam Workshop.

Popular games that include Steam Workshop mods include Garry’s Mod, Team Fortress 2, Cities: Skylines, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and Rimworld. If you want to check if a game has Steam Workshop support without first adding it to your library, go to the Steam Workshop site and search for a specific game.

If you don’t see this category, check with the developers to see if they have plans to add mod support in a future update. This also applies to games published under Early Access, as developers will usually release them without mod support and add it later down the roadmap.

Different games will feature different kinds of mods, depending on the genre of the title and what the developer allows people to create. For example, you can use Steam Workshop to make your own board game in Tabletop Simulator .

How to Install a Steam Workshop Mod

Now that you’re in the Steam Workshop for a specific title, it’s time to grab a mod. If you’re browsing the mod list looking for something that grabs your attention, theMost Popular andMost Subscribed categories are the best places to start. These contain mods that others have downloaded the most, so they’re usually of high quality or add a much-requested feature for your game.

If you have a rough idea of what you want to download, you can use theSearch box at the top right. If you know what kind of mod you’d like to download, use Steam’s category selector on the right. These categories will change depending on the game and what parts the developers let you download mods for.

Once you find a mod you want, hover over its entry and click thegreen plus icon. If you’d like to learn more about the mod, you can click on it to visit its information page. From here, you can see screenshots, the mod’s description, and user comments.

If you decide to get the mod, click theSubscribe button on this page.

Once done, you should see your game appear in Steam’s download manager. This shows the current status of your mod downloads. Once the download finishes, your mods are ready to go.

When you next boot up the game, it will begin installing your mods. Most games with Steam Workshop integration will display a dialog box showing the progress of your mod installations. Once all your mods are installed, you’re free to use them in-game.

If you want, you can also add the mod to a collection. Collections are a curated list of mods that players can share through the Steam Workshop. You can create your own to recommend specific mods to others, and can check out other people’s collections.

To add a mod to your curated list, click onCollection . If this is the first one you’ve created, Steam will guide you through the process of making a collection.

How to Save Steam Workshop Mods

If you really like a mod, you can add it to your Steam Workshop favorites. This will allow you to easily find the mod again at a later date, even if you unsubscribe from it.

To do this, click on theFavorite button under the mod image. This will add the mod to your favorites list, but it won’t download to the mod unless you click theSubscribe button.

To see your favorites, visit the Steam Workshop page for your chosen game. On the right, underYour Workshop Files , clickYour Files, thenYour favorites . You can remove a mod from this list by clicking the star button next to it.

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How to Remove Mods From a Game on Steam

Once you’ve subscribed to a good number of mods, you may want to see a list of all the mods that you’ve downloaded. This is particularly handy if you want to unsubscribe from a specific mod, but don’t want to go searching for it through the Steam Workshop.

To see all the mods you’ve subscribed to for a specific game, visit the title’s Steam Workshop as above. On the right, underYour Workshop Files , clickYour Files and selectSubscribed Items . Steam will show you every mod you’ve subscribed to for that game.

If you’ve decided that a mod isn’t for you anymore, you can remove it from this screen. Look for the mod in the list and click theSubscribed button. It will change to sayUnsubscribe when you mouse over it. You’ll now be unsubscribed from the mod, and it will uninstall itself automatically.

Can Steam Workshop Mods Contain Malware?

Given how easy it is for people to upload mods onto the Steam Workshop, it’s understandable to be concerned about whether a mod can contain malware. Steam can automatically install and update mods, so what’s to stop someone from using it to distribute a virus?

Generally, Steam Workshop mods are safe. There have been rare instances where someone used the Steam Workshop to distribute malware. For example, as reported by GameRant , a mod called Downfall for Slay the Spire distributed malware after hackers managed to get into the mod developer’s account and uploaded the payload into the code.

However, these cases are the exception rather than the rule. For the most part, you can download mods without worrying about any malicious code sneaking onto your system.

Mods are a fantastic way to play a game the way you want and the Steam Workshop makes it easy to do this. Now you know how to mod your games, manage what you’ve downloaded, and remove any that you end up falling out of love with.