Summary
A group of modders has received permission from Ubisoft to reviveDark Messiah of Might and Magicwith a code-based software development kit (SDK) for modding the game. The iconic first-person ARPG was originallydeveloped by Arkane Studios in the early-to-mid-2000swith some assistance from Valve.
Arkane initially intended forDark Messiah of Might and Magicto be a sequel to its debut title, 2002’sArx Fatalis. The project was greenlit after Valve approached the developer with a proposal to make a game powered by its then-upcoming Source engine. However, Arkane struggled to find a publisher forArx Fatalis 2, not least due to the original’s lackluster sales. Only Ubisoft showed interest in the game, having eventually agreed to publish it as a spin-off title based on itslong-runningMight and Magicseries, with Ubisoft Annecy also handling its Xbox 360 port. Despite mixed reviews, the 2006 game eventually amassed a cult following.
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Some 17 years later, a group of modders led by one David Wiltos has now been given permission to reviveDark Messiah of Might and Magicwith a code-based SDK that should significantly streamline the process of modding the action RPG. While mods themselves are perfectly legal, open-sourcing an unofficial SDK entails releasing a significant chunk of a given game’s code base. Depending on how that code was reverse-engineered, this ranges from a legally gray area to an outright illegal act due to copyright protections, which is why the SDK’s release hinged onUbisoft’s approval, Wiltos explained on Reddit.
Following two years' worth of negotiations over the exact contents of the modding SDK’s release, Ubisoft gave a blanket approval to the project, essentially allowing its developers to put out anything they see fit. In a recent update posted to Mod DB, Wiltos said his team will be acting on this approval “as fast as possible,” having already launched a limited toolkit that allows enthusiasts toimplement ray-tracing supportintoDark Messiah of Might and Magic.
The software is based onNvidia’s RTX Remix toolkit, meaning that any mods created with it will only work on contemporary GeForce GPUs offering ray-tracing support. The same group of modders is also currently working on a co-op mode forDark Messiah of Might and Magic, which was actually their original goal before the online community’s interest prompted them to expand their efforts to a full-featured modding SDK.
With Ubisoft’s official blessing now bestowed upon the project, the incoming SDK promises to deliver a big boon to the game’s modest modding scene. An influx ofDark Messiah of Might and Magicmods could also potentially reignite interest in Arkane’s seminal ARPG, adding to its already sizable cult following.
Dark Messiah of Might and Magicis available on PC and Xbox 360.
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