For decades, PC gaming elitists have lorded their ability to download imaginative game mods over their dirty console gaming peasant cousins. That advantage goes away today... at least for one major recent release. Bethesda just launched an update that allows Xbox One players to download and run Fallout 4 mods (though the Bethesda mod servers seem to be melting under the strain at the moment). A similar update for the PS4 is promised for later in June.

There are a few caveats to consider before exploring the freewheeling modding scene, as Bethesda discussed in a livestream last week. All mods have to be downloaded to the console through the in-game interface (which requires a BethesdaNet account), and there's a 2GB limit to total mod storage per system. While loading the wrong mods (or loading them in the wrong order) could make the game temporarily unplayable, you don't have to worry about screwing up your save game while playing with mods loaded—a separate "modded save" will be stored alongside the standard version. Achievements and Trophies can't be earned while using mods.

Bethesda says it will be cracking down on nudity and the use of outside copyrighted content in the console mods it hosts, so forget about your dreams of running a naked Master Chief through the post-apocalyptic wasteland. As of now, 888 of the 1375 PC mods listed on the Bethesda Workshop for the game have been approved for the Xbox One, and that ratio will likely go up as Bethesda does more testing.

While there are plenty of interesting and useful mods to play around with, we can particularly recommend the "Full Dialogue Interface" mod, which ensures you won't be surprised by the specific words that come out of your avatar's mouth when you decide what to say next. After that, how about some new hairstyles or new radio options?

Aside from games like LittleBigPlanet that are explicitly about user-generated content, console games are rarely modifiable to the same extent as similar PC games. Unreal Tournament 3 was a notable exception, offering a bevy of interesting mods to PS3 players starting nearly nine years ago. Maybe Bethesda's newfound support of the console modding scene will drive other developers (and console makers) to be more open to the idea of letting console players play around with the game code itself.