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Future of modding

AI is everywhere right now, and GTA 6 is on everyone's minds. These two topics constantly pop up whenever people talk about modding. Let's look at what they actually mean for us, plainly and without marketing fluff.

What AI genuinely changes​

AI is a fantastic tool for taking on repetitive work: generating boilerplate code, re-explaining a concept in plain terms when you're stuck, or quickly turning an idea into a first draft. Used as a helpful assistant, it saves valuable time.

However, GTA modding has a practical catch: an AI answer is not evidence that an API or game behavior exists. An assistant can suggest a native that does not exist, use an obsolete API, or produce code that compiles but has no visible effect in game. Check names against the SDK and source references, then test the behavior in Story Mode.

An assistant also cannot judge the experience for you. If a ped is stuck in a wall or a motorcycle handles oddly, the in-game result and the logs matter more than the generated code. You decide whether the mod is actually good to play.

Generating code has become easy. What holds real value today is understanding what you read, testing things yourself in game, spotting abnormal behaviors, and knowing how to fix them.

Why we start with GTA V​

We could have chosen other games. GTA V is a good place to learn:

  1. An open world with mechanics already in place: Los Santos is already packed with pedestrians (peds), vehicles, a driving system, ragdolls, and weather. Nothing has to be built before you can test code. Modding also lets you touch many aspects of the game, from a small feature that tweaks one detail (a pedestrian reacting to your presence) to a full rework of a behavior or an AI (a gang confrontation, a police chase).
  2. C# with ScriptHookVDotNet: C# is clean, strongly typed, and great for building good habits. What you learn in C# will serve you well beyond GTA.
  3. Story Mode test environment: you can test a script, read its logs, correct it and reload. A failed test still costs time, but you can isolate it from online play.

There are constraints: the tools are community-maintained, and game updates can break compatibility. Check the current ScriptHookV and ScriptHookVDotNet release notes before changing a working setup.

What about GTA VI?​

That is the question on everyone's mind. The honest answer: nobody knows yet how modding will work on GTA 6.

We don't know what tools will be available, what the game will allow in single-player, or how long the community will take to lay the first stable modding foundations. Anyone claiming certainty right now is guessing.

What is certain, however, is that what you learn here will never be wasted:

  • Understanding the game loop.
  • Managing entity lifecycles.
  • Structuring behaviors with clear state machines.
  • Steering in-game AI and cleaning up memory.

These development habits transfer between engines. The tools and APIs of a future game may differ, so learning to verify them matters more than memorizing today's names.

GTA V already has years of tools, scripts and shared knowledge. We can keep learning and creating on it while the next game's modding ecosystem takes shape.

How we use AI in this course​

AI gives you answers, not proof. Use it to ask questions and explore ideas; verify code against the real SDK, and verify behavior in the game. A successful build does not replace an in-game test.

Now that the landscape is clear, let's head into the workshop: the next lesson guides you step by step through setting up your tools.