Content is frequently removed from video games during development for a variety of reasons.
Perhaps the content doesn’t fit the final vision of the game. Perhaps the project has gone over budget. Or perhaps the developer simply can’t figure out how to seamlessly integrate it with the rest of the game.
Despite content being left on the cutting room floor, many files end up being left inside the game installations for modders to find later on.
We’ve picked out some of the best mods which aim to restore this cut content for PC users to use in their games. Let’s dive in.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Cut Content Restoration
This mod aims to restore as much cut content in Skyrim as possible, from removed locations to unfinished quests, to items and spells which weren’t included in the final release.
In the end, there’s quite a lot here that’s ended up back in the game. Not everything will fit with the final base version of Skyrim, but it’s a neat way at seeing just what exactly ended up on the cutting room floor.
1/12
Fallout: New Vegas – The Strip NPCs Uncut Content Restoration
This mod restores several NPCs to The Strip in Fallout: New Vegas, including several gamblers, travelers, and soldiers from the NCR.
The mod doesn’t add in a lot else besides these NPCs, but as mod author PushTheWinButton explains, these characters are shifted around between each zone in the Strip, allowing it to feel a lot more alive.
This is due to how Fallout: New Vegas loads NPCs between each zone in the Strip, where characters are essentially shifted between each of the three areas. It will mean the same generic characters get loaded again three times.
2/12
Fallout 4: Cut Content NPCs - All in One
This mod adds a total of 21 cut non-player characters to Fallout 4, each one available as a standalone mod.
The quality of each mod varies, with some having their own voicelines, and others having unique interactions. As it is a compilation, your mileage may vary depending on what you want to get out of this.
3/12
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Fallout 3 - Cut Content
This one adds quite a varied amount of cut weapons and armour back into Fallout 3, particularly unique items which were ultimately removed from the game during development but left in the files.
In particular, you’ll also find cut items that were removed from the DLC as well, such as various military items from the Operation Anchorage DLC and several creepy weapons which were originally supposed to feature in the Point Lookout expansion.
4/12
Starfield: New Landmark Quests - Cut Content Restored
Starfield’s exploration and questing ended up disappointing many players, but this mod aims to increase the variety in the game’s various landmarks and points of interest.
The restored content in particular adds new landmark quests to visit the NASA Launch Tower, Nova Galactic Research Station, and the Mars Rover, as well as cut content visit the Leaning Tower Of Pisa and The Face On Mars.
5/12
Mass Effect: Cut Content Unlocker
The original Mass Effect featured several weapons and armour that were cut from the final game. This mod restores them, allowing you to equip them during regular play.
There isn’t anything particularly outstanding here, as it’s clear these items were cut due to a lot of them feeling rather “samey”, but longtime fans of the game will see the value in trying them out.
6/12
Resident Evil 3: Expanded Maps
Resident Evil fans view the remake of the third game to be a bit of an outlier with the other games. It cut the most amount of content from the original, to the point where the second half of the game barely even resembles the original.
Expanded Maps doesn’t necessarily restore this content, but it does make the opening section of the game feel a lot more open by allowing you to visit new locations and traverse Raccoon City in different ways.
7/12
The Witcher 3: Brothers In Arms - Ultimate Edition
Brothers In Arms is a mod which restores various things to The Witcher 3, including one cut ending for the Hearts of Stone DLC.
CD Projekt Red cut a lot of dialogue in particular with regards to this expansion, which this mod restores in its entirety, along with documents, notes, and some characters which were removed presumably because they were bugged.
8/12
Baldur’s Gate 3: Early Access Scenes Restored
In contrast to the other games in this list, Baldur’s Gate 3 spent about two years in early access. During that time, a lot of content was tweaked or outright removed after Larian Studios pivoted certain story elements in the final release.
Early Access Scenes Restored adds back in around 100 scenes from Early Access, a total of around 1,000 lines. It restores a lot of interactions that weren’t seen in the final release, but aims to only add back in narrative elements that don’t clash with the established lore.
9/12
Dark Souls: Unfinished Business
Much of Dark Souls’ third act famously ended up on the cutting room floor, the game itself running into time and budget issues as it inched closer to release.
Unfinished Business restores some of the cut but useable content which FromSoftware had to remove from the game in the months and weeks leading up to release, including different armour sets, various doors and routes, and some enemies and bosses.
10/12
GTA IV: Radio Restoration Mod
In 2018, GTA IV received an update for its 10th anniversary which removed certain songs from the Vladivostok FM radio station due to expiring song licences. Understandably, this annoyed fans of the game who had grown to love the station’s rather funky europop vibe.
Radio Restoration adds these missing songs back in, so you can now enjoy the sweet pop tones of Glukoza’s Schweine in its original glory.
11/12
Hitman: World of Assassination – Methlab Cut Content
Hitman: World of Assassination repurposes a lot of its locations for new bonus missions, but one that never made it to retail was the cut ‘Meth Lab’ mission, which saw Agent 47 tasked with eliminating “The Chemist” in Sapienza.
This mod aims to restore this mission, with some changes by the mod author to account for bugs and other errors which cropped up during the restoration process, allowing you to experience it as closely to what IO Interactive would have intended for the mission prior to its removal.
12/12
And there you have it, those are 12 game mods which we feel best restore some essential cut content that was left inside the game files.