Although John had long known about the MOD content for The Elder Scrolls from his Parallel Memory, he understood that once the door to modding opened, comparisons and discussions would flood in, especially the kinds of MODs that male players find particularly enticing. It was only a matter of time.
After all, even games that don't officially support MODs can often be altered with patch overlays or text rewrites. So for a game like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, renowned for its open modding ecosystem, the possibilities were endless. Still, the speed at which an adult-themed MOD surfaced caught John off guard.
"I didn't expect Skyrim could be played like this," Luna said, staring at the player community forum and several screenshots. She lounged on the bed, idly petting the dog beside her.
"I suspect we've got a mole in our ranks," John said with a serious expression as he closed the browser tab.
Technically, a MOD like that isn't hard to make, but it takes time. The official MOD tools had only just launched, and yet such a well-polished MOD had already appeared. It seemed too convenient. John couldn't shake the suspicion that someone from the studio had developed it early and released it the moment the tool became available. He already had a hunch who was behind it, especially after remembering a group of suspicious behavior earlier that week.
Still, John had no intention of exposing them outright. At most, he'd issue a discreet warning. While adult-themed content isn't forbidden so long as it passes review, PixelPioneers Studio had a reputation to maintain. If they ever ventured into that territory, it would have to be through a separate subsidiary to avoid tarnishing the core brand.
As John reflected on the situation, the popularity of the MOD quietly began to surge. Although streaming platforms and video sites restricted such content, players found ways to share it. Private links, community threads, and underground discussions helped the mod go viral. Eventually, it even topped the trending search charts.
At Gemtechs, the person in charge clapped his thigh in amazement. "You folks at PixelPioneers Studio, you pulled it off!"
Most industry veterans weren't fooled. After analyzing the special MOD tools for Skyrim, they quickly realized that the controversial MOD likely originated from PixelPioneers Studio. Whether it was part of a planned release or the work of a rogue employee remained uncertain.
Either way, the buzz undeniably boosted Skyrim's visibility. A mid-tier game studio had temporarily topped the sales chart with a new release, but Skyrim soon reclaimed the throne, and player counts surged. Despite some players insisting they weren't interested, many quietly downloaded the MOD, driven by curiosity or amusement.
As the online buzz around Skyrim continued to grow, Moondustries was blindsided. Their upcoming Saturday launch of Fantasy Dream began to feel overshadowed. Having overlooked the impact of the unofficial MOD, Dwain downloaded it himself and examined it closely. Slapping his thigh in frustration, he exclaimed, "You clever devils at PixelPioneers Studio!"
Why are their ideas so twisted? Why are they always two steps ahead? Even as he angrily installed a new save file and activated the MOD, Dwain muttered to himself, "Unbelievable."
Though he had no proof, he was convinced that PixelPioneers Studio was behind it. And if not, he'd be willing to bet on it in the most absurd ways.
As Moondustries scrambled to step up promotion for Fantasy Dream, John received an internal request at PixelPioneers Studio. Several MOD creators were asking for access to the game's relationship-value system. They wanted to build a romance-focused action MOD set in the world of Skyrim. To support their request, they submitted samples of their previous MOD work from other games. After a quick review, John instructed Koch to give them limited support.
Still seated in his office, John found the direction of their MOD idea a little… odd.
"Romance-action? That's an unusual mix," he mumbled.
Most large-scale MODs involve redesigning systems, expanding maps, or creating original narratives; that's why John had included terrain-editing and quest-design tools in the MOD suite. He even made a library of free assets available for MOD creators to use. What he hadn't expected was that the first big idea would be a dating-focused game layered onto Skyrim.
As the sudden wave of Skyrim mods, including two "indescribable" ones, grabbed attention, many industry insiders speculated that John and the Skyrim team were preparing a major announcement.
However, after two days, no official action was taken, and the buzz remained fan-driven. Meanwhile, Fantasy Dream by Moondustries was still leading trending charts. Skyrim was widely discussed, but the lack of an official response kept the situation calm, and that gave Moondustries a much-needed sigh of relief.
Dwain, seeing Fantasy Dream gaining momentum, smiled. "Finally, a normal launch."
Surely nothing else would go off the rails, right? Even if Skyrim wanted to stir up more trouble, it was already too late. With sales nearing six million, it was approaching market saturation.
The domestic player base wasn't unlimited, and most who wanted to buy had already done so. Having figured that out, Dwain relaxed. Scrolling through Skyrim-related news, he no longer felt on edge.