Kenshi Modding on OpenMods

A squad-based open-world sandbox with the Forgotten Construction Set

Kenshi (2018) is Lo-Fi Games's massive single-developer-for-a-decade-then-tiny-studio open-world RPG. The game ships with The Forgotten Construction Set (FCS), a full editor that's effectively the same tool the lead developer used to build the base game. That parity, modders edit Kenshi with exactly the developer's authoring tool, has produced a uniquely deep modding scene.

The catalog leans toward huge content overhauls (Genesis, Living World, Universal Wasteland Expansion) rather than small tweaks. Kenshi modding rewards patience.

The toolchain

• The Forgotten Construction Set (FCS): Kenshi's official editor, free with the game. The same tool used to build vanilla content.
• Steam Workshop: primary distribution channel.
• mod.io: alternative distribution channel, used by some authors.
• Manual install: drop a mod's folder into Kenshi/mods/ and add it to mods.cfg.

What you'll find on OpenMods

Kenshi mods are mostly on Workshop. GitHub-hosted Kenshi mods are rare, typically tooling rather than content. OpenMods catalogues these.

Practical notes

• Mod order is crucial. Kenshi's data is loaded as override layers, later mods overwrite earlier ones. Large overhauls usually want to load last. The launcher lets you reorder.
• Save game compatibility is mod-specific. Some mods can be added mid-save; many cannot. Always read the mod's notes.
• Performance scales with mod count. Kenshi's engine doesn't handle dozens of large mods gracefully. Three or four big mods is usually the practical ceiling.
• The 1.0.x patches occasionally break mods. Lo-Fi has been good about preserving modding compatibility but isn't perfect.