TaleWorlds Entertainment recently announced an official modding competition for its controversial naval combat DLC, "Battle Sails," for Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord. The competition officially launched on August 14, 2026, with a submission deadline of November 22, 2026. The final winners will be announced in January 2027. This event aims to encourage creators to expand upon the naval gameplay of "Battle Sails," with a total prize pool exceeding €30,000.
The competition features three categories, catering to creators from various fields:
Total/Partial Conversion Mod Competition:Participants are required to use assets from "Battle Sails" to create mods that alter the core gaming experience, such as transplanting naval combat mechanics into different historical eras or entirely new worldviews. This category offers the most substantial prizes, with the top three winners receiving €12,000, €6,000, and €3,000 respectively.
3D Art Creation Competition:Invite creators to design brand-new ship models for the game, ranging from humble boats to mighty warships, with no restrictions on artistic style or historical era.
Scene Design Competition:Creators are tasked with designing a "Legendary Coastal Village Raid" scene, depicting warships beaching themselves and warriors disembarking for battle.
The first-place prize for the latter two categories is €2,000. In addition to judging by developers, the competition includes a community voting segment, allowing players to participate in the selection process.
Submission Requirements:Entries can be either previously published or unpublished mods, but they must be related to the "Battle Sails" content. Authors are required to submit a public YouTube video showcasing their work.
Open Source Resources:All winning entries (ship models and scenes) will be released as open-source resources for other mod authors to use, fostering the long-term development of the community ecosystem.
The "Battle Sails" DLC has received "Mixed" reviews on Steam due to technical issues and compatibility problems with existing mods. Some players feel that its naval content does not integrate well with the base game. TaleWorlds hopes this competition will not only showcase the powerful capabilities of the "Battle Sails" modding tools but also incentivize creators to develop high-quality content for it, thereby bridging divisions within the player community and addressing the issue of numerous older mods becoming incompatible due to code changes.