Players Choice - Mod of the Year 2021 feature

Welcome to the 2021 Mod of the Year results! With top 100 voting having taken place over the last 20 days, the results have now been tallied and we are ready to announce the winners! Our favorite moments in 2021 include the increasingly powerful tools released for the Master Chief Collection, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition's modding getting off to a roaring start, and the many other modding triumphs for the community over the last year.

Below you will find the Top 10 Mods of 2021. While you're at it, you can also check out the Top 10 Indie Games of 2021, or join the site in anticipation for next year's awards to register a mod of your own or vote for those you think deserve recognition in 2022.

Ashes is a post apocalyptic TC that combines semi-realistic build engine style maps with fast paced Doom inspired combat. It takes influence from the Fallout and Stalker series. Featuring 2 full episodes and an expansion offering dozens of intricate maps to explore, scavenge and fight through; a deadly arsenal of weapons from lowly 9mm pistols to improvised garage railguns; varied enemies including insane bandit raiders, mutant cannibal warlords and acid spewing carnivorous plants; and an absolute banger of a soundtrack by cacoward winning musician John S.Weekley (aka PRIMEVAL).

The End Of Days is a freeware modification for Command & Conquer: Generals Zero Hour. The mod adds a new playable faction - Russia, and greatly improves the original three with new units, structures and special powers! The main aim of the mod is to bring an authentic real war feeling, with a few fictional additions for more fun and diverse gameplay & tactics! Fight M1A2 Abrams Tanks or T-14 Armata Tanks with your Overlord Tanks supported by Z-19 Attack Helicopters!

X-Ray Multiplayer Extension is a multiplayer modification for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. CoP that brings coop experience to the game. It receives regular updates, support, and new ways to experience S.T.A.L.K.E.R.'s bleak open world with a friend.

The Unofficial Patch is a combination of the default Basic Patch which mostly fixes bugs only, and the optional Plus Patch, which is kind of a mod adding various tweaks and restoring a lot of unused content, including new quests, levels, weapons, items, characters, dialogue, graphics, models, sounds and original music! Included are also the optional Patch Extras which feature player mods, like shaders suites, as well as the Unofficial SDK and other developer tools for modding.

Dark Interval is a restoration/revision mod that lets you play Half-Life 2 as it could have been. Using Valve's early concepts, they're creating new maps, models, textures, and custom dialogue. The mod is released in episodes, the most recent being Dark Interval: Part I - an intro chapter to the bigger story.

Remastered RA2 and YR single-player Campaigns & fast-paced, balance oriented multiplayer. Rise of the East introduces two completely new factions to the game, East Asia (China) and GLA, from Generals. Full multiplayer functionality using CnCNet Client and many new and unique features, visuals, improvements, units and much more

SIGNAL LOST is a total reimagining of Half-Life: Uplink that will take you through a plethora of cut locations that have been recreated with atmosphere in mind. Starting in the Central Command & Communications Center, you must coordinate with your surviving colleagues to unseal the emergency entrance to the vast and mysterious X-Lab complex. Your journey will take you to war-torn freight yards on the surface, to the peak of the massive satellite array overlooking the facility, and finally to plunge the forbidden depths of the X-Labs below.

A Total Red Alert 3 conversion. Features a reimagining of C&C Generals/Zero Hour on Red Alert 3 engine;
powerful SAGE 2.0 Engine and RNA Renderer; powerful networking engine, with no more random desync errors for no reason; remakes of C&C Generals Maps; beautiful Post Processing effects ( HDR, CC, etc. ); stunning Particle Effects; DynLight emitters for better effects expression; enhanced RNA Renderer; and
smart adaptive AI, which reacts and adapts to all your moves.

Initially developed and released by Gearbox Software in 2001, second Half-Life add-on, Half-Life: Blue Shift is a return to the Black Mesa Research Facility and another look at the Incident's consequences from the eyes of Gordon Freeman's best friend - Barney Calhoun. In 2012, Crowbar Collective has delighted Half-Life fans with release of the magnificent Half-Life remake, but there are still no released remakes for add-ons. This is where HECU Collective comes in, who are developing Black Mesa: Blue Shift - a free remake with use of Black Mesa resources and style. Staying as close to the original Blue Shift and Black Mesa as possible, the mod will be releasing partially, chapter by chapter, so those who are not patient for the full release will finally have something to play!

Finally, the 1st place winner for Mod of the Year 2021 is The Chronicles Of Myrtana: Archolos, a free, total conversion mod for Gothic II: Gold Edition. It features a completely new open world, improved skills systems, gameplay mechanics and complex story. Releasing just this December, it's a truly huge mod that, at this stage, surpasses even the term "total conversion". It's no wonder its dedicated fanbase, who were hyped for this release for years, have made a splash and allowed this mod to claim its place in the ModDB Hall of Fame!

With so many fantastic mods posting major updates and leveraging their passionate communities, we'd like to direct your praise and attention to these honorable mentions. A honorable mention is given for polling strongly in the awards, but being ineligible due to placing higher in a previous year, or if a significant update was not released in 2021:

The 2021 awards are proudly supported by mod.io. Launch an official mod community for your game with powerful moderation, discovery, events, marketplace and metrics systems, using our cross-platform mod SDKs and plugins for Unity and Unreal Engine. Interested in adding mods to your game and finding out more? Reach out for a demonstration.

Congratulations to all the modders and community members who participated in the 2021 Mod of the Year awards! We wish you all the best for your continued modding efforts into the new year and beyond.