[It's only a matter of time before Starfield goes fishing. That's because Todd Howard reaffirmed Bethesda's commitment to making the game's galaxy a big blank canvas on which modelers can paint their dreams, and hinted that the studio will be heavily involved in the modeling process.

In a chat with Kinda Funny Xcast, Howard was asked how excited he was about the scope of Starfield's modding, and given that Bethesda games have been synonymous with mods for decades, his answer was unsurprising but commendable Starfield is a modder's dream," he said. Howard said, "I think Starfield is going to be a modder's paradise,"

"It's part of our DNA, it's what we've been doing for over 20 years."

Howard has long confirmed that Starfield is moddable, and given Bethesda's history, it would be far stranger if the game was not open to player tinkering, but he is really emphasizing Bethesda's involvement this time . "What's important to us is not just to enable [modding], but to participate," Howard said, adding that Bethesda wants to "make it easy for [modders] to make it a career, not just a hobby."

Well, that's interesting. Of course, Howard is effectively admitting that the creation club system that was in "Skyrim" and "Fallout 4" (the paid mod system that Bethesda implemented in its own games after its own (and Valve's) first paid mod system crashed like the Hindenburg) is back! It is possible that it is just that, but it sounds like something more than that to me.

Bethesda and Microsoft may try their luck again with another open mod market like the original Steam Workshop paid mod system.

Either way, be prepared for a monster space mod. The Starfield community is buzzing with anticipation after Howard spoke about the game's mod capabilities. Reddit user Rat_Salat wrote: "God bless Bethesda. They are the last good ones, it's true."

redryan1989 said, "We all loved that one."

Some users have the same doubts as I do about Bethesda's involvement; I am cautiously intrigued by BGS's "participation," said logicality77, "through tools, training, support, and perhaps an open marketplace, We hope to enable modders."

Another user, onedaytogether, seems more excited about the mods than the base game: "I can't wait to come back to this game in 5 years and find the old planets completely remodeled," they said, "Huge new cities on every planet, space cities, all kinds of weird new space horrors, new AI-voiced companions with endless dialogue, Vanquish-style rocketney combat, and all the sci-fi properties that have ever existed in their own corners of the map," they said. Now, here are a few ideas to inspire you modders. Chop chop.

As for the mods people might make, they have more imagination than Todd Howard, Starfield's game director, who said he "can't even imagine" what people will do with the game. I can imagine, Todd: a Thomas the Tank Engine and a nude character model. Perhaps both at the same time.