The modding scene is a significant part of this game, and many mods are exclusively available through the Steam workshop, aka DRM for mods, which you will never be able to access with the GOG version.

This cannot be said in any meaningful way to be "drm-free". This is in fact the dark future of DRM that extends beyond the platform that we warned against back in 2011 when non-valve steam exclusives like skyrim started appearing.

The best mods are already on nexusmods which doesn't require Steam or access to the workshop. Honestly I'm hoping this will sell well enough that Bethesda will decide to port Fallout 4, so I can finally play FROST without having Steam stinking up my SSD.

The version of Skyrim now sold on GOG is the Special Edition which never had a Steam Workshop.

Unfortunately, I couldn't get mods to work with the GOG version. None of the mods I tried from Nexus seem to be working with this version, and I have no idea how to get them to work.

What?! What does any of that got to do with a game being DRM-free? A game doesn't need mods to be DRM-free, and if a mod requires DRM to be used, that's a problem with the mod, and it doesn't make the game any less DRM-free.

You are delusional if you think anti-consumer vendor-lock-in was not the goal of workshop to begin with, it is a problem with the game. Why are we against DRM in the first place if something like this doesn't matter?

It doesn't matter. See my post above.

You keep missing the point: a MOD being available *only* on the Steam Workshop adds DRM to the MOD, not the game
Using your logic, mods available on nexus, which are DRM free, will make the Steam version of Skyrim DRM free as well, which does not make any sense

Also mods are optional, fan made, unsupported content... if you want to complain, complain to the mod authors

There is nothing on steam that can't be found on nexus, and SKSE, Vortex, LOOT, and everything else works great I literally just diff-merged my data folder and repointed Vortex to my GOG install and it's all working, even updated my Skyrim Together collection on my test gog merge, its working perfectly. Now I have multiple copies working together for testing collection loadouts for Nexus updates and mod tweaking.... I couldn't be happier!

TL:DR -- All mods work fine, no issue at all!


If you absolutely need a steam mod use this GUI interface to grab any mod off steam and install it via Vortex or by hand if you are familiar with modding bethsoft titles.: https://github.com/shadoxxhd/steamworkshopdownloader/

Yes, that's the goal of the workshop. Nobody is arguing that.

And it doesn't matter because it's not a problem with the game. It's something external to the game, not tied to it. The game itself is DRM-free, that's what matters. Exactly.

DRM/DRM Free isn't factored in into anything downstream of official released content.

Also, while i understand what you mean with "the modding scene is a significant part of this game" that statement is factually wrong - the official release comprises the entirety of the game, anything else, regardless of how meaningful it may be to the fanbase, is extra and therefore, like i said above, outside the scope of DRM/DRM Free considerations as far as the game itself goes

Ooh, I absolutely feel ya there. I've learned about all the cool mods Project Zomboid has - but it's all locked to Steam Workshop. Can't find any of the like, hundreds of mods, anywhere else than Workshop. And I don't have an account there. ... nope, see above. Maybe true for Skyrim, IDK, but certainly not for Project Zomboid, sadly. Few months back when I tried to get the mentioned mods for Zomboid, I had no luck and I think I've read somewhere, then, that Valve had rendered that downloader useless by some changes (and threatening to sue all websites using it to provide downloads) or something...? So, does it work again?

As others said above - The GOG version of Skyrim has no NO DRM at all! None!

That stupid DRM ridden Creation Club stuff is NO part of Skyrim. It's tacked-on Steam-centric garbage that originally was meant to commercialize all mods, but felled flat on it's face. People where not buying it - At all... Afterward Bethesda re-tried it and got their payed-for system in place on Steam. However - This has nothing to do with the core game at all. It's just a glued-on system. Lucky enough the game is restored to it's original form with no DRM at all, and that's the version sold on GOG.

The unfortunate remains of that horrible experiment has wriggled it's way into the Steam version of Skyrim. Together with the mandatory Steam client it made the game a Steam and CC DRM infested piece of software.

Finally here on GOG we have a version of Skyrim that's not longer tied to a client and creation club. As others also said here - There is a massive amount of mods available on Nexus and other sites.

For those that absolutely want to use that Creation Club... Well there is still a DRM infested version available on Steam, so go ahead and dive into that. I myself will not miss that Creation Club at all.

If adding that Creation Club stuff means you have to add DRM to the GOG DRM-free version, I would say: "no thank you". Because THEN the statement of this thread would be correct. But at this very moment the statement that Skyrim still has DRM is completely false.

Steam workshop only works on Skyrim 32bits - which it's pretty much dead.

Most players who are actively modding are playing Skyrim 64bits (gog version is 64bits), it don't have a Steam Workshop, everyone uses NexuMods (technically there is BethesdaNet too, but 90%+ of authors/users ignore it on PC, it's only used on Xbox/PS).

But they do require nexusmods. Different beast but similar scenario.