'We also don’t think we should tell the developer what to charge,' Bethesda added. 'But again, we don't think it's right for us to decide who those creators are or what they create.' 'We believe the best should be paid for their work and treated like the game developers they are,' the company said. They are opening a powerful new choice for everyone.'īethesda further explained that it believes most mods 'should be free,' but also contends that the very best creators ought to be rewarded for their work, and the community should have the opportunity to support them. They are not forcing us, or any other game, to do it. 'Three years later and Valve has finally solved the technical and legal hurdles to make such a thing possible, and they should be celebrated for it,' Bethesda said. Right now, only 8 percent of Skyrim players have ever used a mod, and fewer than 1 percent has ever made one, the developer said.īut when Valve first approached Bethesda in 2012 about the idea of paid mods, the developer said it saw this as an opportunity to bolster modding so that it could reach more players. Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto series doesn't officially support modding (though that certainly hasn't stopped fans from creating them).īethesda went on to say it's always seeking out new opportunities to grow the modding community, and sees paid mods as a way to do that.

While others in the industry went away from it, we pushed more toward it.' 'Even if you never try a mod, the idea you could do anything is at the core of our game experiences. 'It's our belief that our games become something much more with the promise of making it your own,' it explained. Allowing mods in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, meanwhile, boosted the game's ESRB rating from T to M, which cost Bethesda 'millions of dollars.' By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot'sīethesda pointed out that it has for more than a decade now been a staunch supporter of mods, starting in 2002 with The Elder Scrolls Construction Set.

Steam paid mods 2019