Some games, which are now extremely well-known, were initially mods. At their core, these games have a lifecycle that usually begins from scratch. This includes everything from ideation to the design of the game. It is only after these two steps that the game enters its development cycle. Most games follow this route until testing and eventual release.
Some games may not necessarily do so. These are games that are first rolled out as mods. Several games were first conceived as modifications to already existing titles.
Some of these titles turned out to be such massive successes that they were known more than the original games on which they were based. Here are the top nine games that weren’t standalone products at first, but instead, they were mods.
Garry’s Mod (Originally a Mod for Half-Life 2)
Garry’s Mod is probably the most obvious entry in the list. That is because the title has the word mod in it. Having begun life as a modification to Half-Life 2, arguably one of the best sequels ever made, Garry’s Mod was released in 2004. The same year in which Valve’s Half-Life 2 was released, it garnered some of the most favorable reviews for a title in the year.
The game is a little complicated to explain but offers a significant amount of avenues for players to do just about everything expected from a sandbox title. Garry’s Mod offers both single-player and multiplayer options for people who purchase the game. As per the Steam Community’s official website, the game has a mind-boggling number of 308 game modes.
Project Reality: BF2 (Originally a Mod for Battlefield 2)
Project Reality was released as a modification for Battlefield 2. The modification was first released in 2005, and then several iterations were released, with the most recent one releasing in 2023. Project Reality was developed by The Project Reality Team and was also published by it.
The game had several game modes available for the player. Some had warfare that followed an asymmetrical nature, while others focused on commandeering vehicles to establish dominance in the battleground. The modification was praised by game reviewers and journalists and essentially went down as a basic blueprint for another commercial game. Squad, a very popular and well-rated tactical FPS game, was built by many of the same team that was responsible for Project Reality.
DayZ (Arma 2)
DayZ was a modification for Arma 2. The game only had a multiplayer game mode and was set in a fictional setting. The overall gameplay loop saw players shooting, fighting, and running for their lives to survive an apocalypse of the undead. First released in 2012, the game’s player base skyrocketed to the extent that it contributed to the overall success of Arma 2 as well.
Having garnered such stupendous success and acclaim, the game was then released as a full-fledged standalone title by Bohemia Interactive. The game, at the time of writing, is also 40% off on the Steam store through November and can be checked out here.
DotA: Defense of the Ancients (Warcraft 3)
Not many people know that DotA 2‘s predecessor, DotA, was born as a mod for Warcraft 3: Reign of Chaos, a real-time strategy title published and developed by Blizzard. Blizzard is currently the undisputed king of the MMORPG genre, as revealed by World of Warcraft. The game, despite having been released in 2004, remains a cult classic and enjoys a mass following.
The modification was transformed into a franchise when it was acquired by the makers of the most popular PC gaming platform in the world, Valve. The instance occurred in 2009, and since then, there has been no turning back for the franchise or the genre.
PUBG: Battlegrounds (Arma 3)
Initially known as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, the game began as a mod for Arma 3 and was developed by Brendan “PlayerUnknown” Greene. The game alongside Fortnite was the flagbearer of the battle royale genre, when it was converted and expanded to a release that was independent of any other franchise.
At one time, the game was among the most popular games in the world but slowly lost some of its popularity due to the saturation that occurred in the battle royale genre. The game saw players skydiving onto an area to get the ever-tasty Chicken Dinner, emerging as the last one standing on the battlefield. To ensure that the game was never bereft of any action, the playable area on the map was narrowed down, naturally bringing surviving players closer.
Team Fortress Classic (Quake)
The Team Fortress franchise has become a huge part of pop culture and commenced back in 1996. The big bang for the franchise occurred when a mod for Quake titled Team Fortress was released. The gameplay saw two teams go head-to-head against each other. The server can house up to 32 total players, each belonging to one of the nine classes, each with their own unique abilities and skills.
The game was an instant hit and was restructured as a mod for Half-Life when the creators of the mod were working on a sequel. Having been approached by Valve, the team released Team Fortress Classic in 2007.
Insurgency: Modern Infantry Combat (Half-Life 2)
Based on Valve’s Source Engine, Insurgency was one of the games that focused on a realistic military combat experience. At the time of release, a focus on realistic weapon mechanics and physics was uncommon. Attempts at simulating what it feels like when one is carrying a killing machine in the palm of their hand were very commendably executed.
The game also formed the Insurgency franchise, which later had one spin-off and two sequels, the most recent being Insurgency: Sandstorm, released in 2018 for PC. The game also received a port for all the seventh- and eighth-generation consoles in 2021.
X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse (Quake)
X-Men is one of the most iconic franchises in the Marvel Universe. A vintage game featuring mutants straight from Professor Xavier’s X-Mansion was X-Men: The Ravages of Apocalypse. The game was first conceived as a mod for Quake, and playing it required the original version of the latter to be installed.
The game changed virtually every asset and design element of the original Quake and had the enemies replaced by clones of popular X-Men characters. It was only nine years after the original mod that it was released as an independent freeware game. At the time of its release, it was one of the very first games to feature such a detailed community modification.
Counter-Strike (Half-Life)
As evident based on other titles in the list, Half-Life and Half-Life 2 were the starting points for a lot of games. Inarguably, the game that is the most popular out of all of these is Counter-Strike. A tactical FPS shooter that has formed an inseparable and irreplaceable token of gaming heritage.
The game was first created by Minh Le and Jess Cliffe. It was so impressive with all of its maps, weapons, gameplay, and design elements that the IP was acquired by Valve. The game was then released in 2000 for the first time, laying the foundation for the Counter-Strike series. Without Counter-Strike, we wouldn’t have had CS:GO and CS2, both of which have been some of the most popular games in the current generation.
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