A Sigh of Relief or a New Headache?
In late 2024, 2K finally took a step that many gamers had been clamoring for: the removal of its notorious launcher. At last, players cheered, believing they could once again dive into their beloved titles like Bioshock and Midnight Suns without the baggage of obnoxious corporate bloatware. But as is often the case in the gaming world, joy can quickly turn to despair.
Welcome to the Mod Dilemma
Head over to the Steam forum for XCOM 2, and you’ll find a thread of anguish. The removal of the 2K launcher has left mod enthusiasts scratching their heads as countless mods seem to have gone the way of the Dodo. Many users have reported that having these mods installed could lead to consistent crashes—a far cry from the seamless gameplay one desires. Even the much-acclaimed alternative mod launcher, meant to help players sidestep the launcher issues, appears to offer little relief.
Finding the Silver Lining
After my own trials with various mods, I discovered a somewhat convoluted workaround that seems to save the day. If you want to revive those treasured mods, navigate to the directory where Steam stores your XCOM 2 mods (it’s located at steamsteamappsworkshopcontent268500). Open each mod’s subdirectory to find a file ending in .xcommod. If it doesn’t include the line requiresxpack=true, simply add it and save. Repeat for every mod, and with any luck, you should be able to enjoy them again!
