Most mods to games are using API calls to a mod loader to change the game for the user on runtime.
As I’ve literally written in my first sentence: “almost everything can be called a mod.”
There are many types of mods, not just using API calls to make the game behave differently. AI upscaled texture packs are derived from the originals, for example. Extracting assets from one game and putting them into another is also not uncommon. I don’t know which methods most mods use. I’m not aware of a quotable statistic.
As I’ve literally written in my first sentence: “almost everything can be called a mod.”
There are many types of mods, not just using API calls to make the game behave differently. AI upscaled texture packs are derived from the originals, for example. Extracting assets from one game and putting them into another is also not uncommon. I don’t know which methods most mods use. I’m not aware of a quotable statistic.