This Skyrim fan's clutter mods were so good they landed a job on Starfield doing the same

Starfield
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Bethesda enlisted the aid of a skilled Skyrim modder to add clutter to Starfield's environments.

So there won't be any Starfield mods from Elianora, a well-known modder in the Skyrim modding community, famous for creating impressively realistic homes that feel lived-in, thanks largely to the abundance of knick-knacks knocking around inside.

In a Facebook post shared on the Starfield subreddit, Elianora revealed that Bethesda - clearly impressed with their creations - hired them to work on Starfield as a "lighting and clutter" artist. The modder began the announcement by coming clean about the fact they'd been pretending to have no knowledge about Starfield as videos and gameplay details started to roll out before confirming their part in helping bring the ambitious space-based RPG to life.

"I have been deceiving you. I have been lying. I have been faking. I've kept secrets and pretended," Elianora wrote. "I was merely pretending whatever I said I hadn't a clue what Starfield would be like and what Bethesda could be up to. I faked my surprise at ladders, the space flight, the awesome level of details of the environments, and acted like I was in total unexpected awe of all the cool clutter. Actually... I placed some of that clutter myself."

Describing their time working on Starfield, Elianora said it was "100% amazing and an experience of a lifetime". Their post ends with the message, "Enjoy our game. Now let's go out there and explore," accompanied by a photograph of their arm sporting a nifty Starfield tattoo.  

Elianora, mod author known for her cluttered and lived-in Fallout and Skyrim house mods, was a "lighting and clutter artist" on Starfield from r/Starfield

Elianora's clutter isn't the only popular yet unplanned aspect of Skyrim that's made its way to Starfield. Much to their delight, players have discovered that the bucket trick, which lets you steal items by dropping them in a bucket, is back, but with a twist.

Elsewhere, Starfield's combat is Bethesda's best, because we finally said goodbye to VATS.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.