Hello, I'm debating wether or not to get SE or AE. If I were to get AE, would it be possible disable the "Anniversary Edition Upgrade" DLC, effectively playing the SE version? I thought I might as well get AE, and eventually disable the AE Upgrade DLC if needed (for mod support or something idk).

Thanks :)

Running the game via lutris, I get a choice between "special edition" and "anniversary edition".

Special Edition still has a bit of what was originally DLC, but the most game altering one, Survival Mode, can be turned off if that's not your thing (and, IIRC, it's off by default).

There is no technical difference between SE and AE. All game versions >1.5.97 are technically considered AE. It's just that one version has access to the Creation Club mods and the other doesn't.

When it comes to mod compatibility, you will want to play either 1.5.97 (old SE before the AE update) or 1.6.353 (slightly worse when it comes to compatibility). Both aren't available on GoG. The only version you can play through GoG is 1.6.659.