14 DAY TRIAL // Without a doubt, the biggest development in terms of PC gaming last week was the introduction of premium mods for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim via Valve's own Steam Workshop. The move generated a huge backlash from most PC users, but was supported by others, including mod makers who want to get paid for their efforts.
However, both sides raise interesting points that, apparently, weren't considered at all by Valve and Bethesda before this new option was released for all Steam users who have Skyrim tied to their accounts.
Modding has always been free, more or less
First up, let's talk a bit about the modding phenomenon in general. Ever since the likes of Morrowind in the 2000s, fans of Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls role-playing games have created new content for the titles. Modding in general can be traced back even further, as many of Valve's own projects started out as mods, from Counter-Strike to DOTA or Team Fortress.
By nature, most mods were available free of charge, as they arrived from fans who built them out of love and passion. Many then used this experience to break into full-fledged video game development, or just to earn some extra name recognition.
Large game developers and publishers enjoyed these mods, as they not only promoted the community around the game but also drastically extended the life of the experience. Many people still have Morrowind installed, or other such older games, because some quality mods appeared to make them a blast even today.
Skyrim already enjoyed a huge boost in popularity due to mods
Skyrim in particular has enjoyed a huge boost to its popularity on PC due to mods, as well as Bethesda's special relationship with the community. The studio rolled out the Creation Kit and allowed fans to make all sorts of modifications to the game.
Now, however, it seems that things are taking a drastic turn due to the introduction of the premium mods that are sold through Valve's own Steam Workshop.
Several problems go against paid mods
First and foremost, the modding scene has always been about sharing and working as a whole, instead of ending up divided. There are many examples of mod collections that use various works from different users to create something even more special. The introduction of premium mods means that some will end up fractured, as some developers may ask for a price while others will keep their creations free.
Secondly, when it comes to the actual mod makers, the amount of money they get is just 25% of the asking price. The remaining 75% goes to Bethesda and Valve. Sure, they should certainly get a cut of the profits, seeing as how Bethesda came up with the game and the Creation Kit, while Valve is hosting the files and providing the infrastructure, but offering fans just 25% is borderline disgraceful as they're the ones putting in the work and adding value to the game, as well as to the Steam Workshop overall.
Thirdly, Valve is already in over its head when it comes to dealing with Steam's millions of users. Its customer support is embarrassing in its ineffectiveness and failure to even respond to demands from customers, and now many free mods have been stolen from services like the Nexus and uploaded by other people than their creators on the Workshop so that they can be sold.
Valve promised that refunding mods would be an easy process, but it seems that it also brings unforeseen penalties, as those who do such a thing have a one-week suspension from using the Steam Market.
Valve should encourage donations and strive to keep things free
Overall, Valve doesn't seem to have thought things through with the premium mods idea. Yes, there is an option for mod makers to ask for any sum of money from fans, through the "Pay what you want" setting, but even that is a far cry from really emphasizing the donation aspect of the deal.
I'm not opposed to the idea of content creators getting paid for their efforts, but let the public decide this. Don't force people to pay for something that may or may not work and leave it to the community to curate things.