Capcom Says That Unofficial Mods Are "No Different" From Cheating

thegamer.com:

We all love modders. Not only do they make certain games better, providing unofficial patches that either help things run more smoothly or eliminate bugs, but they also give us the wildest videos that feature Thomas the Tank Engine soaring through the skies of Skyrim or a tense chainsaw fight between Leon Kennedy and Shrek. Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like Capcom shares the same sentiment.

According to a video on the Capcom R&D YouTube channel (thanks GamesRadar), the publisher believes that if someone is using a mod that hasn't been officially distributed by itself, they're basically cheating. In the video, you can see Capcom's stance on mods at the 14-minute mark, in which it states that all mods should be "defined as cheats" unless they're officially supported.

It states that while it acknowledges that some mods benefit players, most unofficial mods are impossible for anti-cheat and anti-piracy software to distinguish from legitimate cheats and should be classified as such. Capcom also states that unofficial mods are "no different" from more nefarious cheats in as to what they're doing to games internally, and that more malicious mods have the potential to damage the company's reputation.

Not quite sure how modding Mario into Resident Evil 4 or having Leon Kennedy run around with his wang out is cheating, but you do you Capcom.

It's a pretty tough stance, but one that is rather baffling from an outside perspective. There are far more unofficial mods that improve Capcom's titles than there are ones that negatively impact them, solely because if you're going to go out of your way and dedicate time to creating a mod, chances are you're a fan of the game itself.

Capcom may have a point when it comes to reputational