Skyrim Special Edition’s August 20 Patch Raises Console Mod Limits

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition has received its August 20 Title Update, and console players now have more room for Creations. Bethesda’s patch also addresses crashes across the game and Creation Kit, along with a series of storefront and load-order issues.

PlayStation 5 and Xbox players now have 15 GB of mod storage. PlayStation 4 storage has been expanded to approximately 16 GB, although the console’s storage system can create differences between the download size and the space used after installation. Players on PS4 may also run into a practical limit when installing several large Creations at once.

PC mod storage is unchanged. The update does, however, bring several Creation Kit fixes and workflow changes, while PlayStation Creation uploads can now use more archive file types.

What the Skyrim August 20 update changes

Several game-side fixes focus on Creations. Free content from Verified Creators should now appear in the correct store category, bookmarked works in progress can be viewed, and the Verified Creator category sorts by the latest releases instead of alphabetical order.

Load orders should also behave more consistently. Enabling an item should stick when selected, and deleting all Creations now removes only mods downloaded from the Store. Mods added through other methods are left untouched. Bethesda also fixed problems that could stop players from uploading or restoring load orders containing unavailable content or many mods.

The Creations Store should load more efficiently, and its interface now supports larger box-art formats. Players can also sort Creation categories by Most Popular, while Creation Details pages include instructions for reporting abusive or problematic mods.

The game now avoids crashes tied to the Steam Deck Virtual Keyboard, empty search results in the Creations menu, and transformations into a new race. Creation Kit users get fixes for crashes involving Sound Descriptor dialogs, loot in new encounter zones, the Make Use Info button, and mods reloaded without an associated Masterfile.

Verified Creator Creations can also be marked as Achievement-Friendly on Xbox or Trophy-Friendly on PlayStation. Updated Creations using that functionality require a new game before achievements or trophies can work.

On Steam, the update downloads the next time the client launches the game.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Special Edition August 20 Patch Notes

The largest changes affect Creations storage, storefront tools, load-order handling, player-facing stability, and Creation Kit workflows. Bethesda’s complete notes are reproduced below in their original order.

• Increased mod storage to 15 GB for both PlayStation 5 and Xbox.
• Due to differences in platform storage systems, PlayStation 4 Creation storage is changed in the following ways: Creations storage expanded to approximately 16 GB, but download size may not match space used because of technical details of the PlayStation 4 console hardware; This may cause download size vs. installed size discrepancies. Storage usage may appear larger than expected when managing Creations; Due to the storage system partitions, PS4 users may experience a practical limit on the number of large Creations installed at once.
• Added localized strings fixes for UI and platform terminology.
• A Creation’s Details page now includes instructions on how to report abusive or problematic mods.
• Added bundling of Creations in the Skyrim Creations Menu to bring it to parity with Fallout and Starfield.
• Changed storefront UI to support Creations box art at 3640 x 900 and 900 x 506 to be consistent with Starfield and Fallout 4. Older image sizes will still be supported and do not require immediate resubmission.
• Added support to sort Creation categories by “Most Popular”.
• Creations flagged as WIP can now be viewed when bookmarked.
• Added Localization export support.
• Updated “Search and Replace” to align with Starfield, adding buttons for “Select Form in Object Window” and “Open Form Editor”.
• Creation Kit will now allow multiple master loads by default. This can be configured as normal.
• Skyrim Creations released through the Verified Creators program will have the option to be Achievement-Friendly (Xbox) and Trophy-Friendly (PlayStation). This means that certain Creations will no longer block achievements, but it requires starting a new game for this functionality to work on updated Creations.
• Bink files can now be added to Creation uploads via an Extra Files browser.
• Expanding beyond scripts, archives are now supported on PlayStation. New file types are available (.nif, .dds, .bink, .wav, and .fuz (with embedded .wav)) for PlayStation Creations.
• Fixed a crash when the player opens the Virtual Keyboard on a Steam Deck device.
• Fixed a crash when the player ‘selects’ an empty search result in the Creations menu.
• Fixed a crash when the player transforms into a new race.
• Fixed a crash when the player closes the dialogue for a Sound Descriptor.
• Fixed a crash when analyzing loot in a new encounter zone.
• Fixed a crash when clicking the Make Use Info button on some menus.
• Fixed a crash that can occur when reloading a mod without an associated Masterfile.
• Free Creations from Verified Creators now correctly appear in the Verified Creators category within the store.
• Exiting out of Search when viewing a specific Creation now properly returns the player to the Details page of that Creation.
• Fixed an issue where installed Creations would sometimes display the incorrect version number while on the pause menu.
• Creations titles should now display with fewer misformatted characters.
• Resolved an issue where the Creations store would not always update visual pricing when Creations were placed on sale when a player had not changed menus.
• Resolved an issue where Anniversary Edition Creations failed to auto-download on PlayStation 5.
• Search strings will no longer clip through text when searching for Creations,
• The Verified Creator category should now correctly sort by latest and not alphabetical order.
• Enabling an item in Load Order should now more consistently stick when selected.
• Deleting all Creations now only clears mods downloaded from the Store and not those loaded via other means.
• Uploading or restoring a Load Order containing a mod or Creation no longer available on the Marketplace should no longer fail.
• Uploading or restoring a Load Order containing many mods should no longer fail.
• The Creations store should now load more efficiently.
• Creation Kit now forces consistent capitalization of platform-specific .bsa binaries to avoid runtime errors.
• Archiving new forms in a plugin which relies on pre-existing assets will no longer cause the pre-existing form to duplicate within the plugin.
• Fixed an issue where Creation submission can improperly tag a file as a Masterfile causing infinite data reload.
• Cell forms should now populate correctly across all tabs when accessed via the Cell View window.
• Altered forms will no longer count as new forms when creating a plugin.
• Using the Create Archives or Upload process should more consistently apply correct compression to meshes/miscellaneous archives.
• Browsing ids in the World Spaces window should no longer alter the forms.
• Resolved error message pop-up when attempting to open the Creation Kit while services were offline.
• Updated the game credits.

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