Fallout 4 modders report stolen content as support broadens to consoles

Following complaints from content creators, Bethesda Softworks has issued instructions on how to report Fallout 4 users who have allegedly stolen other players' mods. Modders can file Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown requests through the company's owner, ZeniMax Media, in the hopes of getting their unauthorized content removed.

Claims of stolen mods have swirled around the Fallout 4 community since the game's Creation Kit tools came to Xbox One at the end of May. The Windows PC version of the game has developed a large group of content creators, many of whom have not moved over to Fallout 4 on console. Instead, as they've said on communities like Reddit, Xbox One players are allegedly re-uploading PC mods without permission from the authors.

These mods include those on Bethesda.net as well as popular third-party site Nexus Mods. Many of the reportedly stolen creations have already been taken down, but not before Redditors on the popular Fallout Mods forum noticed the striking similarities.

Some users have defended the stolen content, calling out creators on PC who haven't brought content over to Xbox One themselves for being "lazy" and other pejoratives. The controversy has since led to debate between Fallout 4 players on the two systems on the availability of mods across both platforms.

Either way, Bethesda has acknowledged that it takes accusations of stolen content seriously. Modders are free to submit requests at any time, assuming their claims of theft meet ZeniMax Media's guidelines.