THE END OF DAYS IS HERE! Well, that is how a lot of PC gamers around the internet are phrasing their displeasure with Valve right now the minute they heard you could pay for Steam Workshop mods. Could this be the turning point where everyone who uses the term “praise GabeN” finally sees Valve as a real company just trying to make a buck? I’m not too sure but I can see this as another Valve experiment that people will get caught up in way to deeply.
So there’s some good and some bad to what Valve is doing and the biggest outcry is they should have done it differently but we’re here now lets take at look at what they are actually offering and not some pie in the sky fantasy. For gamers we get to support mod creators we love and should a mod not meet our tastes we have 24 hours to return it from the time of purchase. Publishers will have to decide if they will allow the ability to sell mods and right now they are trying it out with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. However if a mod breaks for any reason we are asked to kindy report it and mods may also be delisted at anytime however just like anything on Steam if you’ve purchased the item before it was delisted you’ll still have access to it. Not the best bonuses to gamers, I’m sure there was already a paypal button somewhere to support a mod you really liked but it’s interesting to see a publisher support this officially and it should give mod creators more visibility to make more money.
On the creators side they dictate how much to charge for the mod. They can also split up the to payouts between multiple contributors who might have worked on the mod or if they happen to be using, with permission, someone else’s mod inside of theirs they can give some funds to those other creators as well. With this update both free and paid mods can specify required DLC and required mods so gamers can make sure they meet the minimum requirements before they purchase your mod, this is a nice touch. Mod creators will only receive funds once they reach $100 and while you know Valve is taking a cut along with the publishers I’ve seen no hard data in either of the FAQ’s they’ve published. Lastly Valve will also withhold taxes from mod creators and it’s based on where you live which can be upwards of 30% but this might save some headache come tax time.
So there you have it, some good, some bad and a whole lot of gray in-between. I think it’s an interesting experiment that needs a bunch of fine tuning, especially the issue of mods becoming broken as a game is updated over time. I do like the fact you can split the money so everyone gets their cut though I would like to see this publicized on the mod page. Valve also has a DMCA Takedown action if someone falsely uploads someone elses mod which should hopefully clear up any wrong doing. In the end this could do one of three things, it will either further push mod creators to continue to update their mods and not leave them to die which hopefully starts a new golden age of amazing mods coming out on PC where creators can actually make some extra funds off their hard work, it could become another failed experiment that goes down in flames with a giant wedge being driven into the community as gamers take sides some gamers accepting the new pay/free model and others wishing for the old days with free mods as far as the eye can see or maybe it will just exist with some mod creators having success as they crank out mods like no ones business and the rest of PC gaming continuing on as it always has with mods at the fringe of acceptability for some publishers while being welcomed wholeheartedly by others.
Source Link: http://steamcommunity.com/workshop/aboutpaidcontent/
PRESS RELEASE
Steam Adds More Ways for Workshop Creators to Earn Money
Workshop is now putting mod authors in business via a new streamlined process for listing, selling and managing their creations. Creators contributing to the Steam Workshop have the choice of listing their new creations for sale at a price of their choosing, or to continue to make their work available to players for free. Mods purchased from the Steam Workshop are available immediately for play.
“We think this is a great opportunity to help support the incredible creative work being done by mod makers in the Steam Workshop,” says Tom Bui at Valve. “User generated content is an increasingly significant component of many games, and opening new avenues to help financially support those contributors via Steam Workshop will help drive the level of UGC to new heights.”
Direct mod sales via the Steam Workshop debuts today with Bethesda Softworks’® award-winning title, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim®, and additional titles will become available across the Steam Workshop in the coming weeks.
Mods on the Skryim Workshop have received more than170 million downloads to date. The thousands of free mods, items, weapons, and quests will continue to be available at the discretion of the players who made them.
Support for mod sales via Steam Workshop is the latest expansion of Workshop in recent weeks. In late January, support was added for third party games to sell in game items created by members of the community. Valve alsoannounced over $57 mil has been paid to community content creators since Workshop debuted in October 2011.
For more information, please visit: www.steamcommunity.com/workshop/aboutpaidcontent.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim® ©2011-2013 Bethesda Softworks LLC, a ZeniMax Media company.
