Some games are designed to be modded and an expectation of both players and developers alike is that the game will be a platform to build upon.

Part of the reason a Minecraft modding course is so effective and easy to learn is that Minecraft is designed to be tweaked. Every texture is on a block so they are easy to redesign and game concepts can be included and removed simply by dragging them into the mod folder.

Other games such as any Besthesda game (Doom, The Elder Scrolls Skyrim, Fallout) the ARMA series and games inspired by Minecraft such as Factorio also seem destined to be popular with modders.

However, some games are either difficult to mod or are of a very unique genre that is also incredibly popular with modding communities.

Here are just three of the most unexpected.

Euro Truck Simulator 2

Every aspect of the Euro Truck Simulator 2 success story is odd to the point that its incredibly deep modding community might be one of the least bemusing aspects of the entire game.

However, with a huge range of modifications from new trucks and skins to adding trains, passengers and new types of cargo, ETS2 has become a surprisingly successful moddable game.

A Hat In Time

When many people think about 3D platformers, they do not tend to think about their mod potential.

Enter A Hat In Time by Gears For Breakfast, a phenomenally fun 3D platformer that formed part of a renaissance for the genre, in no small part thanks to its level editor and mod-friendly tools, allowing people to easily construct their own levels and worlds.

Compared to its contemporaries such as Super Mario Odyssey, it allows for a level of freedom that is rather unexpected.

Mount And Blade: Warband

Mount and Blade is a series that without modding would simply have stopped existing. From a fairly mediocre RTS game to an interesting if somewhat flawed multiplayer action game, Mount And Blade can thank its dedicated mod community for the success it has.

From major gameplay and graphical overhauls to the customary Star Wars mod to battles based on famous historical conflicts, the modders managed to take the enjoyably visceral gameplay and enhance it further.

The modding community was so pivotal to the game’s success that the long-awaited sequel, Bannerlord has many notable improvements but is still currently lacking a big modding community.