With over six years under its belt as the portable console of choice for gamers around the world, the Nintendo Switch has acquired a deep and diverse library of titles that—whether exclusive to the platform or available across devices—are perfectly capable of giving players everything they asked for.
But as games arrive on the Switch that might already enjoy mod support elsewhere, the inevitable question arises: should Nintendo offer official mod support to some games on its platforms? Maybe to all games? Below, we’ll break down some of the leading candidates to showcase what a mod-friendly Switch experience might look like.
10 Stardew Valley
Let’s get things straight: Stardew Valley is a game that you can absolutely enjoy without mods. But it’s no secret that its mods are often a nice touch that can add immersion to your in-game relationships and efficiency to your farming workflows, especially if you’re looking for things to do during the later stages of your playthrough.
On the Nintendo Switch, you’ll currently have to settle for the vanilla version, but envisioning a modded Stardew Valley packed into the Switch’s ultra-portable form factor is an enticing fantasy, indeed.
9 Grand Theft Auto V
Sandbox games are great for modders because game developers only have so much time and so many resources to devote to providing players with the most immersive in-game experience possible. No matter how complete the vanilla version of the game is, there’s always room for new content, tweaks, and customization that can make the game even more playable than it was at launch.
This is the case with Grand Theft Auto V, which clearly shines on its own, but also achieves a new level of greatness with the addition of its modding community’s ingenious creations. If Nintendo added official mod support, the possibilities would be truly endless.
8 Minecraft
The trouble with modded Minecraft is that it can very quickly become computationally costly to run, especially if you include heavy-duty textures and shaders in the mod category. Even if you don’t, it’s difficult to imagine the Switch is capable of running Minecraft with a complex mod like Feed the Beast Ultimate or RLCraft.
Nevertheless, it would be awesome to have some expanded customization for the title that sets the bar high for sandbox games. Just keep the ray tracing to a minimum, and everything should work out just fine.
7 Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic
This classic RPG has survived the test of time, in no small part due to its mods that make it a more-than-viable experience even when compared to its modern competitors.
In this case, the old age of Knights of The Old Republic works in its favor by making the base game just easy enough to run on the Switch that throwing on the additional weight of a few mods wouldn't necessarily ruin the experience.
Just imagine cruising across the galaxy with enhanced force abilities, new quests at your fingertips, and all those pesky glitches fixed. Sure, that's all possible if you're playing on a PC, but on the Switch? A gamer can dream, right?
6 No Man’s Sky
Despite impressively active developers who have religiously pumped out updates since the game’s 2016 release, No Man’s Sky has acquired a similarly active coterie of modders that have helped make it a classic.
With its debut on Switch in 2022, No Man’s Sky landed on the portable console with many of its earlier issues already ironed out. Nevertheless, in this procedurally generated universe that gets about as close to the real thing as you’ll find in a game, there’s ample space for some officially-sanctioned customization.
5 Terraria
Like Minecraft, Terraria has a highly active modding community that has added a ton of utility to the game since its debut in 2011. And like Stardew Valley, a modded Switch version of Terraria would likely hold up well without putting too much stress on the console’s computing capacity and battery life.
This is especially true for mods like Wing Slot, Magic Storage, and Boss Checklist, which are all quality-of-life mods that focus more on improving the basic game mechanics instead of adding new content or cranking graphics tweaks up to eleven.
4 Sid Meier's Civilization 6
Unlike the majority of titles in this list, Civilization 6 is neither a sandbox game nor a simulator. That doesn’t matter, though, because it’s still a prime candidate for some good ol’ fashioned mod support on the Nintendo Switch.
Despite the robust library of official content added since its release in 2018, the latest installment in the classic turn-based strategy franchise has plenty to gain from its helpful, relevant mods that can be enjoyed by new and seasoned players alike.
Becoming available on the Switch has made it arguably the most accessible Civilization title in years, so why not take it a step further and throw in a mod or two for good measure?
3 Doom (1993)
The FPS that keeps on kicking, 1993’s Doom has challenged, delighted, and terrified generations of gamers and, despite its age, doesn’t look like it's ready to throw in the towel any time soon. Its healthy selection of mods doesn’t hurt it in this regard, to be sure.
Whether you’re looking to add some extra mechanics, tweak the graphics, or add an entirely new DLC worth of content, Doom’s modding community has you covered. Official Switch support would be a boon for the game that really puts the “shooter” in “FPS.”
2 Cities: Skylines
Like its sandbox cousins, this city-building sim has nearly infinite tweaking potential for a modder with even an ounce of creativity. While all console players are already missing out on the modded Cities: Skylines experience, the game’s Switch Edition players in particular would benefit from official mod support, because what’s better than building a city while you’re cruising through the city?
With mods that enable additional customization, players could more accurately borrow from real life to make their in-game cities truly shine.
1 Skyrim
Skyrim’s modding community deserves the lion’s share of the credit for keeping it alive far past its expiration date, so it would be a no-brainer to give Nintendo Switch players an opportunity to enrich their vanilla Tamriel experience with a few of the more popular and stable mods that give Skyrim its extended lease on life.
Regardless of your screen size or computing power, better graphics, smoother animations, and additional custom content are always welcome additions. Nintendo, what are you waiting for?