Fifteen years on, Skyrim still has more modders than most new games have players. Now there is a prize on the line: on October 1, 2026, Nexus Mods kicked off the Skyrim Modathon 2026, a three-month contest for brand-new Skyrim Special Edition mods.
Key dates
- Entries: October 1 – December 31, 2026 (00:01 GMT to 23:59 GMT)
- Community voting: January 4 – 10, 2027
How to take part
Create a new mod for Skyrim Special Edition during the event, upload it to Nexus Mods and add the Skyrim Modathon 2026 tag. Updates to mods released before October 1 don’t count, but there is no limit on how many new mods you can enter. Entrants must be 18 or older and mods must be safe for work.
One rule worth noting: content made with generative AI is not eligible. AI-powered tools may be used as helpers, but the mod itself has to be made by you.
Five optional themes
You don’t have to follow a theme, but there are separate awards for those who do (add the matching theme tag to be considered):
- Beneath the Ice and Stone – a natural fit for new dungeons, ruins and caves
- Life in the Holds – towns, people and everyday Skyrim
- Arcana of the Old Gods – magic, shrines and the divine
- Beasts of Legend and Steel – creatures, weapons and armor
- Songs of the North – bards, music and Nordic tradition
The prizes
The Skyrim Modathon Champion can choose between £5,000 in cash or a £5,000 Nordic adventure for two – a real-life trip to the kind of landscape that inspired Skyrim. On top of that, ten further awards of £500 are up for grabs, and prizes stack if one mod wins several categories.
Our take
With The Elder Scrolls VI still years away (see our TES VI hub for what is actually confirmed), contests like this keep Skyrim fresh. Three months is a generous window – enough for a small quest mod, a new player home or a well-made armor set. And the August patch that raised console mod storage means more players than ever can enjoy what comes out of it.
Need inspiration? Browse our Skyrim database – from armor sets to smithing materials – and look for the gaps.
Quests
Characters
Locations
Creatures
Weapons
Armor
Items & materials
Spells & shouts