Install Workshop mods or create your own
To install Geoplanetical presentation mods, subscribe through Steam Workshop, enable the items in Manage mods, and restart the game. To create your own, open Mod studio → New mod from the main menu, edit the supported names, portraits or flags, then choose Save mod, enable it and restart.
What presentation mods can change
The base game uses fictional leaders and party names. Presentation mods let you replace supported names and artwork to give those entries a different look. Budgets, elections, laws and warfare continue to follow the game's simulation rules.
| Option | Supported changes and limits |
|---|---|
| Leader and party names | Replace the supported names displayed by the game. |
| Portraits and country flags | Replace character portraits and country flags, or provide additional selectable flags. |
| Simulation mechanics | Presentation mods cannot alter budgets, elections, laws, warfare or simulation rules. |
| Historical campaigns | Presentation mods cannot change the historical campaign start; gameplay-changing total conversions are not supported. |
Install and activate a Workshop mod
- Subscribe to your chosen item in the Geoplanetical Steam Workshop to get the presentation mod you want to use.
- Enable the subscribed item in Manage mods to select it for loading.
- Restart Geoplanetical to load the enabled mod when the game starts.
Subscription and activation are separate parts of this process. Use Manage mods to enable the item you want, then restart before checking its changes. Mods load at startup, never in the middle of a campaign.
Create names, portraits and flags in Mod studio
- Open Mod studio from the main menu to access the presentation editor.
- Choose New mod to begin creating your own presentation package.
- Give the mod a name so you can recognize the package you are creating.
- Assign its identifier carefully: other mods refer to yours by this identifier, and it stays fixed once saved.
- Select a leader, party or country flag from the game's list to see the original beside your version.
- Edit the supported names, portraits or flags to create the presentation changes you want.
- Choose Save mod to write the presentation package in the supported local format.
- Enable your saved mod in Manage mods to select it for loading.
- Restart the game to load your saved presentation changes at startup.
Imported flags become additional choices in the flag editor. Keep that outcome in mind when deciding whether you want another selectable design or a replacement country flag. Use the studio's side-by-side presentation to compare your version with the game's original.
Customize an existing mod with a duplicate
- Select the existing or subscribed Workshop mod in Manage mods to choose the package you want to build on.
- Choose Duplicate in the studio to work on your own copy while leaving the original untouched.
Duplication is useful when an existing mod is close to the appearance you want. Make your changes in the copy, then use Save mod to write them. Enable the desired copy in Manage mods and restart the game to load it.
Save the mod package and load its edits
A mod is a plain local folder containing a small manifest and image assets. Open mods folder reveals its location, and the studio writes the same format used when editing a mod with a text editor. Choose Save mod after making studio changes, then restart to load them. These assets change presentation rather than campaign finances or saved simulation state.
Fix a mod that does not appear
- Restart after saving before checking the result again. The game loads mods at startup rather than during a campaign.
- Open the item's details in Manage mods if it is marked incompatible. Those details explain why it cannot load.
- Check for another mod using the same identifier. Remember that the identifier stays fixed once the mod is saved.
- Check whether a required mod is missing or turned off, or whether an image was refused. Use the reported problem to guide your next correction.
Keep gameplay changes separate from presentation
Presentation mods leave simulation mechanics under the game's rules. The built-in cheat console is a separate tool for experimentation: a successful cheat permanently disables achievements for that campaign, and turning a toggle off does not restore eligibility. During Early Access, developer updates can improve systems and add content; those changes do not expand what a presentation mod can edit.
Custom parties, countries and historical scenarios
- Can I create my own custom political party or country, or start in a different historical scenario?
- Supported presentation modding lets you change existing leader and party names, portraits and flags. It does not provide a gameplay-changing total conversion or alter the campaign start: new campaigns begin on January 1, 2026. Use Mod studio to customize the supported presentation fields while the game retains its simulation rules.