A Total War modder sabotaged his own mod to stop AI copies

Venris, the creator of SFO: Grimhammer III, one of the most followed mods for Total War: Warhammer III, deliberately broke his own work this week. The aim was to sabotage copies of the mod that other users had been reuploading to the Steam Workshop after updating them with the help of AI. A working version has since gone back online, though not before the episode drew plenty of attention. PC Gamer has spotted the same flood of AI-made mods around Skyrim and Project Zomboid. It all raises a simple question about who protects the unpaid work that keeps these games alive.

At a glance

A Total War: Warhammer III favourite becomes a target

SFO: Grimhammer III is a total overhaul mod, the kind that reshapes much of how Total War: Warhammer III plays. First uploaded in April 2022, it had 333,292 subscribers on its Steam Workshop page as of 4 October, and more than 34,000 players have added it to their favourites.

Like every big mod, it needs reworking after each major expansion. As PC Gamer’s Jody Macgregor points out, the Lords of the End Times expansion is huge, and SFO: Grimhammer III isn’t yet compatible with version 9.0 of the game, although its creators are working on it.

Others moved in during that gap. Some users updated the mod for the new version with help from AI, then reuploaded it to the Workshop as their own work. PC Gamer describes a stream of AI-coded submods, often topped with AI-generated artwork. Macgregor sees the same flood around recent mods for Skyrim and Project Zomboid, a game that can now be played in first person thanks to another mod, with comment sections full of players complaining that these uploads don’t work as advertised.

Venris breaks his mod to block the copies

Venris responded on his Patreon page. He explained that he had deliberately corrupted SFO: Grimhammer III so that it would stop working with those unauthorised uploads, citing their growing number and, above all, the use of AI in the process. He also warned that he would make the mod private if things kept escalating.

His message reads like someone defending close to ten years of work. “SFO: Grimhammer is the result of nearly ten years of passion and love for this community and the fantasy world,” he wrote, adding that he does not allow anyone to take his work without permission, especially for AI-related purposes. He closed with a call to back modders over AI, and a reminder that his mods will always stay free for everyone.

The sabotage seems to have done its job, at least for now. In a follow-up post, Venris thanked players for their support and said that, given the discussion, he had decided to restore a working version of SFO: Grimhammer III for version 8.1.1 of the game. The mod is therefore playable again on the previous version of Total War: Warhammer III while the 9.0 update is worked on.

A Steam Workshop swamped by AI-made mods

Venris has no illusions about what his protest can achieve. He admits it won’t stop people who take other modders’ work, but believes it has at least drawn attention to a problem affecting the Total War Workshop. In his words, the game’s Workshop has been flooded for weeks with modifications created entirely with AI. He says he hopes “the right people” will step in so that everyone can keep sharing their work without fear of it being taken.

On the tool itself, his position is more measured. “The use of AI in modding is a hot topic,” he wrote, arguing that AI should be a tool that supports modding without ever replacing it. The same debate is now reaching studios, with Capcom having just set out its plan to get the RE Engine ready for AI.

For Total War: Warhammer III players, the priority is far more down to earth. They mostly want their favourite overhaul back and up to date on version 9.0, and the mod’s Workshop page currently reads “update in progress”.