Reshaping Game Content Creation Through Modding & External Development

The days of games as exclusively developer-authored experiences are over. In a world where Minecraft, Fortnite, and Roblox are among the most played titles on the planet, the rise of user-generated content (UGC) is undeniable.

Indeed, in our recently published post on user-generated content, we took a forensic lens to this phenomenon, looking closely at what it means when players become creators. 

Here, we delve deeper into this crucial topic for modern gamedev, analyzing how AI is already reshaping the UGC landscape, and where developers can adapt to take full advantage of that seismic shift.

This piece takes excerpts from the keynote speech of the same name given by our VP of Technology, Yann Le Tensorer, at the External Developer Summit 2025 (XDS25) – awarded Most Innovative Presentation at the show.

Players are becoming creators

Where modding was once the pursuit of hardcore game enthusiasts, the rise of UGC means it’s increasingly going mainstream. But in a world where developers are being asked to create more content, faster, and with fewer resources, Room 8 Group’s VP of Technology, Yann Le Tensorer, says UGC’s soaring popularity can actually help devs deliver engaging experiences in line with those constraints.

“Let’s say you’re a developer facing this challenge,” says Yann. “What if you turned your players into creators with UGC and co-developers with modding and with generative AI? Then you do less yourselves, but your game still grows. It actually makes life much easier.”

“This is the inevitable convergence of modern modding frameworks and generative AI,” he continues. “It’s reshaping game content creation, even as we speak. The big question is, how can studios leverage these tools to scale without overstretching their teams?”

Traditional development pipelines have limits

Before we seek to answer that, let’s look at the numbers behind the convergence – because they really are staggering.

“Nowhere is the growth clearer than in Minecraft,” says Yann. “In the past six years, the number of available mods grew from 50,000 to over 250,000, and downloads surged from 5 billion to 50 billion. And 95% of those mods are free, created by players. That kind of scale simply isn't achievable through an internal studio team alone.”

“A huge number of releases these days are also live service games that constantly demand new content,” continues Yann. “But traditional pipelines are too slow and too expensive to fulfill those demands. Studios can't just keep hiring more developers to keep up. It's not sustainable. Something has to change.”

Modding is always evolving

Indeed, as we mentioned above, modding itself has changed across several eras, as Yann explains:

The grassroots era

“Modding 20 years ago, back then, was a completely different world. It was grassroots and driven by the technical community. Most mods were made by hobbyists with little or no studio support. Making a mod meant digging into game files, using third-party tools, and distributing your work manually through forums. It was powerful – but also fragmented and incredibly hard to scale.”

The first leap forward

“Things began to shift around 2004 to 2007, when games like Half-Life 2 and Oblivion brought robust toolkits and SDKs (software development kits) to PC players. That's when modding really became a creative ecosystem, and for the first time, modding communities started influencing game design at scale.”

Mods meet consoles

“The next major leap came in 2016, when Bethesda launched official console mod support for Skyrim and Fallout,” says Yann. “Interestingly, however, Farming Simulator 17 – made by Giant Software, which I was COO of at the time – beat them to console with curated modding support on PlayStation 4. So, I am actually speaking from personal experience as someone who was at the vanguard of that shift in the mid-2000s – one where mods became officially supported, curated, and even in some cases monetized.”

Modern modding is mainstream

“Fast forward to today, and we're in a whole new era. Platforms like UEFN, Roblox Studio, and Bethesda Creation Kit have turned modding into studio-supported ecosystems. So, modding is no longer just about post-launch content. It's embedded directly into live games, helping keep experiences fresh, personalized, and endlessly replayable.”

“And here’s the key point,” continues Yann. “The frameworks behind modern modding let studios control the sandbox while players build the toys. So, your studio sets the boundaries, but within those boundaries, players can create, remix, and expand the game world in ways no internal content team could match alone.”

“And with generative AI, that’s about to go nova. Soon, players will go beyond even the creation tools you’ve given them thus far and generate assets, dialogue, and even game logic themselves.”

The next great leap in immersive content creation

It’s clear that GenAI is going to be a powerful tool that shapes the future of our industry. But after huge leaps forward in the last five years, it might surprise you how it’s already being used in the here and now.
“GenAI can create assets, quests, dialogues, shaders, code, scripts, game experience, and more – with constantly increasing quality.”

Here are just three playable examples of how GenAI is already reaching players inside games:

• AI Dungeon: “A fully AI-driven text adventure where players can type anything, like ‘I walk into a cave’ or ‘I fight a dragon’ and the game generates story, dialogue, and branching consequences instantly,” says Yann. “It's a game that writes itself around you.”
• AI Roguelite: “Presenting itself as the world's first fully AI-generated RPG, this is a game where you can type prompts during your run, like ‘Spawn a fire sword’ or ‘Add the boss here,’” explains Yann. “The game then generates those elements live.”
• Inworld Origins: “This demo from AI engine Inworld lets players interact with emotionally intelligent NPCS,” Yann says. “Here you can say anything, and the character responds dynamically – not with pre-scripted lines, but with AI-generated behavior that fits their backstory and motivation.”

GenAI-powered modding has gone mainstream

While the examples given above are either indie releases or outright concepts, there are also some powerful examples of mainstream releases where AI is embedded in tools developers use to accelerate content creation. Yann explains:

• Roblox Studios: “Here, creators can use AI to type comments like ‘Add a leaderboard’ or ‘Make this object bounce’, and the system writes working Lua code on the spot.”
• Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) & ChatGPT: “In UEFN, while players can't yet prompt AI directly inside Fortnite, devs are already integrating tools like ChatGPT to help you generate verse code, procedural logic and even dynamic NPC dialogue, speeding up prototyping dramatically.”
• Promethean AI: “Some studios are also using tools like Promethean AI to build environments. A level designer might say ‘Add a destroyed sci-fi corridor here’, and the tool assembles it using the right assets, freeing teams from repetitive placement work.”

The power of convergence

So, what do you get when GenAI meets mainstream modding? Scalable UGC that’s accessible to all.

“Imagine this: Players with zero coding or art skills can speak or type an idea like ‘I want a Middle Eastern town. Or actually, a post-apocalyptic one. And make it the setting for a racing game. No! A racing deathmatch!’ And the game responds by generating environments, NPCs, dialogue, and behaviors on the fly.”

“But that generated experience isn't just a one-off,” he continues. “Instead, the player can save it as a mod; a shareable, installable piece of content that will instantly become part of the game's modding ecosystem, available to others via the in-game browser or platform hub.”

“As a result, we are moving beyond just personal customization into AI-assisted publishing. Players become co-creators at scale, feeding a continuous stream of high-quality, personalized, and community-driven content into the live game.”

“Studios benefit enormously from this. Rather than handcrafting every single item or quest, they can instead set the rules of the sandbox while the community builds the toys augmented by AI.”

“This is the true power of convergence,” he explains. “Frameworks that make modding safe and supported; AI that makes creation accessible; and live ecosystems that turn one player's idea into shared, playable reality in minutes.”

External partners can accelerate your AI-powered UGC adoption

Now, to finally answer that question. How can studios like yours adopt GenAI-powered modding tools to scale, without overstretching your teams? By following a series of smart steps designed around your projects’ and company’s needs.

“First, start by identifying where AI and modding can ease pressure. These are often in areas like environment dressing and NPCs behavior or side content that traditionally eats up time and budget.”

“Next, it's about choosing the right integration model. Some teams embed AI tools directly into proprietary engines. Others seek outside expertise to build plugins or to interface generative tools with the engine. Either way, it’s rarely a straightforward process.”

“That is where external development partners are playing a key role. Especially those like Room 8 Group, who already understand modding frameworks, GenAI, and procedural generation. They're helping studios retrofit older engines, or design next-gen pipelines that are AI and UGC ready from the ground up.”

“In short, the winning strategy is modular, phased, and supported by partnerships. Studios don't need to rebuild their games – they just need to open the door, one smart step at a time.”

Player-driven ecosystems are the future

Clearly, we're at a turning point in game content creation. Modding frameworks and generative AI are no longer just experimental. They are becoming essential – letting players become creators and helping studios keep pace with growing content demands, without growing their teams indefinitely.

But to truly unlock this potential, studios need to adapt and sometimes rethink their pipelines. They need partners, frameworks, and systems that make AI-driven UGC not just possible, but scalable, safe, and life-ready.

“Whether you're a developer, a producer, or a tech director, now is the time to explore how these tools can work with your players, not just for them,” says Yann.

Looking for a long-term development partner? Get in touch to discuss your next project.

Yann LeTensorer, VP of Technology at Room 8 Group