If you upload to Nexus Mods and AI touched your work, you now have to say so, and say how. If you hoped the site would ban AI mods outright, it won't.
Nexus Mods set out the new policy in a site post on November 3. Xarmo couldn't check that post directly, because the site refuses automated readers, so the details here are as reported by VGC and Inven Global.
What changes
Inven Global reports that every mod author must now declare whether AI was used to make a new upload. Mods tagged as AI-assisted also have to carry a public explanation of how and where AI was used. VGC calls that public explanation the most significant change, the idea being that players can make an informed decision before downloading.
Players get new controls too. Inven Global says AI tags will sit more prominently on mod pages, right after adult-content tags, and that content preference controls are coming to game pages and the homepage, with search to follow. VGC adds that the existing tags, which separate a fully AI-coded mod from one with a few AI assets on its page, will be usable to filter mods from the home page.
There is also a permissions change. According to Inven Global, Nexus is working on new options covering AI usage and training, as well as forks and derivative mods. They will default to "Ask me", so permission has to be granted rather than assumed, and existing permissions won't be reset. The site also said it will not use mods to train AI, and will not sell or license them to anyone who does.
The deadline and the enforcement
Existing mods have a 60-day grace period, which Inven Global says runs from November 3 to January 2, 2027. After that, authors will be asked to fix missing disclosures or permission settings, and those who don't can face warnings, account restrictions or removal.
Catching undeclared AI won't be simple. Nexus admitted that spotting AI content "is by no means an exact science", Inven Global reports. VGC says moderation will be manual, with users encouraged to report mods they think haven't disclosed.
Why there's no ban
"We are pro-human creativity. That's the basic premise behind all decisions below," wrote site owner Foledinho, as quoted by VGC. Inven Global reports that a ban was rejected because AI now runs through the whole creative process, from script autocompletion to textures, voices and full assets, which makes a clear line hard to draw. "An outright ban will not eliminate AI from the modding process but will prevent people from mentioning its use," the post said.
VGC quotes the other half of that position: "AI-generated mods are welcome on our platform provided that they meet certain criteria regarding permissions, transparency, presentation, and conduct."
Nexus also put a number on how big AI content is. Inven Global reports that mods with the "AI-Generated Content" tag received 2.13% of all Donation Points, the site's mod reward currency, so far this year, a figure Nexus called "a comfortably low percentage". Reward rules aren't changing for now.
Not everyone is satisfied. VGC says the comment section shows a split community: some want an outright ban and are frustrated by AI thumbnails on mod pages, while others argue AI tools have made modding more accessible and feel targeted. "I don't expect everyone to agree with every decision we've made, or will make in the future," Foledinho wrote. "This is definitely not a conversation we're going to have once and consider it done," the post says, according to VGC.
Riley's take: Nexus has picked the awkward middle, which is probably the only spot a site this size can stand on. The logic holds up: ban it, and people simply stop telling you. But disclosure only works if undeclared mods actually get caught, and by its own admission Nexus can't do that reliably. So the rule really depends on players reporting what they suspect, which makes every downloader a part-time moderator.
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