If you play video games, chances are you've dabbled in Skyrim, Bethesda's benchmark-setting open world RPG that's now over a decade old. It's been released and re-released ad infinitum, so much so that it has become an established meme. Now, the company wants to have another crack at hawking paid, player-created mods, apparently not getting the message from players the last time around.
In 2015, Bethesda trialled selling mods for Skyrim on Steam, generously offering the modder a 25% cut of the proceeds for doing the actual work. Steam would take its standard 30% platform fee, and the remaining 45% would go to Bethesda, which it claimed was the "current industry standard". Bethesda would ultimately remove paid mods following fan backlash, and Steam refunded all purchases.
In the intervening years, Bethesda would release its Creation Club, adding user-created content to first Fallout 4 and later Skyrim Special Edition, stipulating that these creations wouldn't mess with established lore. Bethesda would also release official Creation Club content occasionally and be permitted to bring the project to PlayStation.
Fast forward to today, and the developer has unveiled Bethesda Game Studios Creations alongside a significant update for the ageing RPG. Creations still allow players to upload free mods like before, but creators can now apply to become a part of the Verified Creator Program. These certified modders will then have the ability to charge for their creations. Expect things to get crazy quickly, as paid mods will no longer need to abide by lore-friendly limitations.
This is already causing consternation amongst the community, and the line between official Creation Club content and mods is beginning to blur. Further frustration comes from these paid mods disabling Trophies on PlayStation, while free Creation content doesn't; it's a disaster.