Bethesda Announced Paid Mods, Will Not Include Existing Market

Paid mods is a touchy subject within the video game community and the last time it was attempted, the offer was pulled out a day later due to overwhelming backlash. It seems Bethesda is willing to give it another go by announcing something called a “Creation Club”. Players can start paying to use new mods created for Skyrim and Fallout 4. However, the changes will not apply to the existing market.

According to Bethesda’s own E3 presenter and the website, the new offer will be made up of new contents that were created by the community, third-party developers, and Bethesda itself. As such, it’s more like a collaborative effort that spans several sectors rather than solely the work of unpaid hobbyists.

“Creation Club is a collection of all-new content for both Fallout 4 and Skyrim,” the website reads. “It features new items, abilities, and gameplay created by Bethesda Games Studios and outside development partners including the best community creators. Creation Club content is fully curated and compatible with the main game and official add-ons.”

Now, it’s worth noting that there are quite a few key differences this time around regarding the service compared to the previous attempt. For one thing, it would seem that the contents are going to be curated, which means that they’ll need to pass a certain standard to be featured, Forbes reports. This should ensure that junk mods won’t clutter the selections and makes way for only quality content.

There is also the matter of the mods that were already released for free staying as is, The Verge notes. Bethesda will not allow creators to submit work that already exists. They need to be completely original.

So, the question now is whether or not “Creation Club” is paid mods and the answer is “sort of”. While the service does involve real money, it’s not only the work of the gaming community now. If other developers and Bethesda get in on the fun, it becomes a hybrid storefront. Not to mention that the curation screening makes the system more organized than the Wild West that is the Nexus.