Nexus Mods 25th Anniversary Mod Drive: Official Guidelines & Rules

Event Overview

To celebrate a quarter-century of modding, we are hosting a massive, two-month platform-wide initiative to raise funds for our charity partner, Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF).

  • Event Duration: 00:01 BST 1 August 2026 -- 23:59 BST 30 September 2026
  • This is a non-competitive charity event focused on creativity, community, and humanitarian support.
  • Because this is a charity-driven initiative, there are no prizes. More information about additional event activities will be available from 1 August.

How To Participate

To have your work recognised and featured during the anniversary event:

  • Tag your uploaded mod with "Nexus Mods Turns 25".
  • Tagged mods will automatically appear on the official event landing page.
  • Collaborative mods are welcome.

> Note: The Nexus Mods Turns 25 tag becomes available on 1 > August 2026.

Content Rules & MSF Compliance

Because this event partners directly with a humanitarian organisation, submissions must align with MSF's guiding principles.

Mods should focus on:

  • Creativity
  • Visual improvements
  • Environments
  • User interfaces
  • Storytelling

They must not focus on combat or violence.

Strictly Prohibited Content

  • Depictions of real-world active political conflicts
  • Real-world weapons
  • Criminality
  • Extreme violence
  • Official MSF logos or branding
  • Red Cross emblems
  • Identifying in-game characters as MSF doctors, nurses, or staff

Neutral tributes to humanitarian causes are permitted provided they:

  • Remain politically neutral and non-character focused
  • Do not reference specific real-world conflicts
  • Do not focus on individual humanitarian workers

Please note that this is strictly a fundraising effort for humanitarian aid; political statements, slogans, or references to specific real-world conflicts are not permitted and will be removed.

Game Eligibility

● Games rated Everyone, E10+, or Teen that allow for non-violent or low-violence modding (such as UI overhauls, environmental changes, or storytelling) are highly preferred.

● Mature-Rated Games (e.g., Skyrim) are allowed only if the specific mods created and shown are entirely non-violent, and no MSF references appear anywhere within a combat context.

● Adults Only (AO) Games: Games with an Adults Only rating, or games entirely centred on real-world weapons, criminality, or extreme violence, are strictly not allowed.

To clarify how these rules translate to the games hosted on Nexus Mods, we have broken down popular titles into concrete categories. While we cannot list every single game on the platform, use these examples as a benchmark for what is permitted or prohibited.

Approved Games with Strict Restrictions (Mature-Rated)

Many of Nexus Mods’ most popular games carry a Mature (M) rating. These games are allowed to participate, but the mods themselves must strictly avoid violence, combat mechanics, and real-world weapons.

No MSF references or humanitarian symbols may appear anywhere within a combat context.

● Skyrim

● Cyberpunk 2077

● Baldur's Gate 3

● Starfield

● Stellar Blade

● Morrowind

● The Witcher 3

● Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord

● Monster Hunter Wilds

Any submissions for these titles that introduce, enhance, or focus on combat, gore, real-world weapons, or explicit/sexual content are strictly prohibited.

Everyone, E10+, or Teen

Games that naturally focus on creativity, simulation, exploration, or sandbox building are preferred for this charity drive because they naturally contain low-violence or non-violent gameplay.

● Stardew Valley

● The Sims games

● Subnautica 1 & 2

● Minecraft

Strictly Prohibited Games (Adults Only, Extreme Violence, or Criminality)

Games that are inherently built around real-world criminal behaviour, extreme violence, real-world weapons, or active modern/nuclear conflicts cannot be featured in this event. Mods submitted for the following titles will be automatically disqualified from the showcase:

● All Fallout games: Prohibited due to their central themes of nuclear devastation and post-apocalyptic ruin.

● Marvel Rivals: Prohibited due to its central design focusing on competitive combat.

● Ready or Not: Prohibited due to a heavy focus on hyper-realistic modern military/tactical combat, real-world firearms, and active tactical operations.

● Red Dead Redemption 2: Prohibited because the game is heavily centred around criminality, real-world weapons, and violence.

● Any titles explicitly hosted on Nexus Mods under an Adults Only rating, or games entirely centred on real-world weapons, criminality, or extreme violence, are strictly prohibited.

Platform Terms & Community Integrity

To ensure a safe, fair, and respectful environment for all participants and our charity partner, the following platform rules apply:

● The Event is open to all registered Nexus Mods users who meet the site’s minimum age requirement.

● All participants must comply with the Nexus Mods Community Guidelines. Nexus Mods reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to remove any mod from the anniversary showcase landing page if a participant's behavior or content is deemed disruptive, harmful, or negatively impacting the community or our charity partner.

● All submitted mods must only include assets that Mod Authors are legally entitled to use. Mods must comply with usage restrictions set by game companies or other rights holders, and no porting or distribution of game assets in violation of copyright or licensing restrictions is permitted.

● Mods must be newly published during the Event window (August 1 - September 30, 2026) in order to be displayed on the event landing page.

● Mods that include previously paywalled or restricted content must ensure those assets are now publicly and freely downloadable from Nexus Mods for the duration of the event.

● To celebrate 25 years of human ingenuity in the modding community, the use of generative AI for assets, code, or dialogue in submitted mods is strictly prohibited.

● In exceptional circumstances beyond Nexus Mods' control, the Event guidelines or showcase mechanics may be amended or cancelled. Any such decision will be taken fairly and to preserve the spirit of the charity initiative.

Summary Checklist

  • Tag your mod with "Nexus Mods Turns 25"
  • Publish during 1 August - 30 September 2026
  • Keep content non-violent
  • Do not use MSF branding
  • Avoid political references
  • Do not use generative AI
  • Ensure all assets are legally distributable