A modification, or usually just »mod« is an alteration of a computer game, that (in contrast to commercial changes to such a game) is made by private persons. Other than DLCs or game modes already present in the game, a part of the game is altered or extended by mods, hence the simple name. There are many variations of mods, ranging from simple re-skins over changes to game mechanics and adding new content up to complete conversions, which alter the entire game altogether, so that basically a completely new game is made from the original game. The people, who create mods are often referred to as »modders«.

Mods may or may not be intended outcomes by the owners of rights to the original game. While some games are explicitly designed to allow and encourage modding of the game, others were never intended to be modded. Therefore the challenges to mod a game may be either rather low (at least for simple changes, like adding a new player's model) or highly demanding (when the game's design makes it difficult and/or the intended kind of modification is rather elaborate).

Some people argue, that mods are what essentially keeps many games alive, as the original game is not really maintained, developed or extended by the corresponding development studio, and would eventually be forgotten. New content may be prevent that from happening, as it may extend players interest in the game. As mods are exactly a means to create new content for a new game, they can very well serve this role.

In some instances a mod even leads to an entirely new game of that type, like in case of the well-known shooter Counter-Strike. It started out as a mod for Half-Life but quickly became a stand-alone game with several following versions of it.

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