New Skyrim Patch Is a Blessing for Consoles, but PC Players Are Even Looking for a Way to Actively Block the Update

Patch 1.7.99 is designed to make modding easier on consoles, but anyone who downloads the update on PC risks losing their modified save file.

Even after 15 years, Skyrimis still being actively maintained. However, the updates focus less on fixing quest bugs or making balance adjustments. Instead, they mostly concern the Skyrim Creations system or platform support.

Skyrim Creations is Bethesda’s official in-game modding system, which makes it easier for you to customize your game with content from the community. This includes both free and paid creations.

With Patch 1.7.99 (View the patch notes on Steam), the mod storage on PS5 and Xbox has been expanded by 15 GB, allowing you to install significantly more and larger mods on those platforms. It’s actually a pretty cool update, but there’s a catch.

“May Talos protect my mods!”

The patch isn’t just being rolled out on consoles, but also on PC, as it fixes crashes and improves the Creation Kit’s UI, for example. PC players won’t benefit from the larger mod storage, though—and, as with every update, you’ll have to worry about your save files if you play with mods yourself.

Extensive mods—such as those designed to improve the menu interface, add new animations, or implement complex magic systems—are regularly broken by Skyrim updates. This is because these mods rely on the so-called Skyrim Script Extender (SKSE), which immediately stops working whenever even the smallest change is made to the game’s main file.

This is also the case with the latest update, andas always, large parts of the community aren’t finding it funny at all. Steam user Meepy hasmade a clear demand in a comment under the patch notesand received hundreds of supportive responses:“Stop pushing paid mods and ruining ours! […]“

Others, however, take it with a sense of humor, such asReddit user 1Madhatter1:“Damn, I actually wanted to block the update, but then I put it off. May Talos protect my mods!”

And indeed, many Skyrim players have started,blocking patches on Steam and GOGand sticking with an earlier version of the game instead.

How to Block Skyrim Updates

Steam: Block Skyrim Updates:

1. Navigate to the steamapps folder (for example, under C:GamesSteamsteamapps).
2. Find the file “appmanifest_489830.acf” (this file is linked to Skyrim).
3. Right-click to open Properties.
4. Check the “Read-only” box and click “Apply.”

GOG: Block Skyrim Updates:

1. Open GOG Galaxy and find Skyrim in your library
2. Right-click and select “Manage Installation” and then “Configure”
3. Under the “Installation” tab, you’ll find the “Auto-updates” section
4. Uncheck the box and select the version you want to keep.

On both platforms, this prevents update files from being downloaded automatically that would change the version number of your Skyrim executable. This allows SKSE to continue accessing the code, and your mods remain intact.

If you want to go back to automatic updates, you can of course undo this in the same way.