The modding community is the beating heart of Skyrim. Player-made mods have kept the game going for years past its expiration date, driving tons of “look at Skyrim now!” viral videos and helping Bethesda to keep re-releasing the game in new generations. The base game is good, but mods have added so much more. It’s one of the best examples of a game that’s been fully embraced by its player community.
A few years ago, Bethesda decided to stomp on this goodwill by crafting a sanctioned paid mods system. Modders could list their work in a digital marketplace, and Bethesda would take most of the money they made away for the privilege of letting them sell their game content. They pitched this under the guise of letting players finally “give back” to the modders whose work they enjoyed — but it was also a way for Bethesda to encourage putting previously free mods behind a paywall, and get profit for themselves. Couldn’t players who wanted to support a modder just donate money directly to them instead? Wouldn’t paywalling certain popular mods drive a rift into the center of the community?
Everyone rebelled against this to the point where the program was hastily wound down, only to re-emerge as the “Creation Club.” In this second attempt at the plan, modders would be paid a one…
