Paid Mods on Steam Workshop - A Discussion

[JohnWordsworth]

To be honest, even 50% to the modder feels like a relatively fair cut. I mean, distributers will typically take 30% (Valve) for the hosting / bandwidth / store front / etc. I would also expect the game developer to get a reasonably cut too - due to the fact they have to better support their mod tools and (hopefully) work harder to ensure better backwards compatibility of mods with new updates.

As such - I feel that even 50% Modder, 25% Valve and 25% Developer would be fine. But really, 60/20/20 would be even nicer (but even more unrealistic). Maybe Origin will come out with something similar in a couple of years time!

[Isaac]

Apparently, Valve plans to [is?] take 75% off the top ~and then divides the remaining 25% between the creator(s) and tax authorities.

[Azel]

This is a difficult topic, no doubt. Mostly because you cannot predict what a modding community will do with paid mods. Will there be a flood of garbage mods by people just looking to score a quick buck? I am sure there will be some of those. But I don't think it will decrease the amount of good mods in any way. In fact, if anything it may be incentive for people to devote more time to it. Or maybe even get new people to mod that would not have with zero monetary incentive.

This should work like any free market. If its a bad mod, it should get bad reviews and therefore less money. If it is a good mod, it should get more subscribers, better reviews, more money. That is incentive to make a good mod.

I have shown my work so far to a few friends and family members. And the first thing they ask is "are you getting paid for this"? I explain no, its a hobby. A very time consuming one, but one I do enjoy. But they think I should get paid for it anyway. To them, not getting paid is wasted effort and goes against the monetary world we all live in. I really don't see any issues with getting paid something for it. Personally will it make me work harder and devote more time to it? No. Unless I can live the dream like Petri for example and do this full time, I can devote only a portion of my time to it. Lately, my real job has more demand and I have worked little on my mod. And the thought of getting paid a few extra bucks if I start working late and pushing myself will never be worth it to me. But getting paid a little for what I do devote can't hurt.

Agreed. There are quite a few Mod's for Grimrock 2 that have been released, and people in this thread have openly stated that very few of them (if any) are worth playing nor mentioning. If that's true then I can't see how allowing people to get paid for their time could harm the situation. Surely we can reasonably expect an increase - even if it is slight - in the quality of Mods.

Personally, I have always wanted to make my own game, but I know I am a long way off from that goal. Thanks to how simplified Grimrock is as a product I am finally able to explore game creation. My personal goal is to take a game series I love and re-create it (for Free). Then, if I manage to do that in some way that is noteworthy, I can decide to go further. For this task I chose the first 2 Myst games (since they are the only ones developed by both of the Cyan brothers). The decision was simple: a Grimrock Mod for Myst; a Skyrim Mod for Riven; then decide between Unreal or Unity for a proprietary game.

When I chose Skyrim for Riven it was solely because of the need to hit that next level (real NPC's and larger puzzle mechanics). With both Mod ideas I also came to terms with the fact that my creations may end up quite terrible (or as minmay would call it, digital diarrhea). However, the positive feedback I have received from my Myst demo quickly motivated me to put forth an even stronger effort. And to be honest, now that Skyrim may allow me to charge for my Riven Mod, my motivation factor has increased 10-fold. Of course, I can't imagine charging more than 25 Cents a download and I"ll be lucky to net a single dollar lol. But the idea that someone could enjoy your creation enough to not only pay a quarter, but also tell a friend to pay a quarter... well that just feel nice.

In truth, I can't even entertain the idea of charging 10 cents for any Mod I create at this stage in my development. The prospect, however, is motivating for the right reasons.

And the reason I say that this was done for the right reasons (good intentions) is simple:

"We think this is a great opportunity to help support the incredible creative work being done by mod makers in the Steam Workshop," said Valve's Tom Bui in a statement. "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."

Modding has been important to all our games for such a long time. We try to create worlds that come alive and you can make your own, but it’s in modding where it truly does. Thanks again for all your incredible support over the years. We hope steps like this breathe new life into Skyrim for everyone.

Bethesda Game Studios

Like I said, the intentions are good. Outcome still pending though

[petri]

I don't think Valve is getting 75%. Probably closer to 10% VAT/sales tax & credit card fees, 30% Valve, 35% Bethesda, 25% mod author. Just my guess, of course.

[Isaac]

I don't think Valve is getting 75%. Probably closer to 10% VAT/sales tax & credit card fees, 30% Valve, 35% Bethesda, 25% mod author. Just my guess, of course.

Plausible; as surely more than just Valve gets a cut of the 75%, but that 25% (for the mod author(s) gets further carved up before they see any of it. Who sells their work for 15% of the price? (eg. Some percentage of the 25% that is left.)

I can understand it, but personally I would have a problem with getting $1500 if it meant that the salesman made $8,500.
(Though I'm sure there are industry/publisher horror stories that are far worse, or plain insidious.)

[TheStoryteller01]

I have been reading/posting on the Nexus Skyrim boards since the announcement and things haven't been pretty over there.

The community seems to rally but there has already been damage that will be hard to repair. Modders have taken mods from the site or deactivated download to protect their IP from theft, some declared to take an indefinite break from modding and people have accused each other a dozen things in more than one thread.

All in 24 hours.

Seriously, I don't wish paid mods to happen for LoG, this community is tight-knitted but still small and it doesn't need the troubles the Skyrim modding community has to endure right now.

[Azel]

It seems some folks who are voicing "against" paid mod's are coming across quite fanatical with their approach: purposely releasing useless Mod's for a price:
http://www.pcgamer.com/fake-protest-mod ... -workshop/

I kinda like that this is happening (the Apple and Chicken with a Helmet is pretty hilarious). I'm glad this is happening because even though they are trying to "protest," in actuality the are drawing more attention to how viable paid mod's can really become. I also like the fact that the very people who claim to defend the Mod community are so willing to ruin it by releasing bad Mod's for a price. Watching people sacrifice their dignity in order to prove a point is quality entertainment.

Here is a good write-up by a successful Modder:
http://www.gamespot.com/articles/garry- ... 0-6426885/

However this turns out, it's pretty fun watching the events unfold.

[BuzzJ]

I absolutely oppose it. Jockeying to make a DLC is not what modding is about and is further harmful to the community. IP clusterfucks are not really very helpful, nor are they profitable to AH. AH should not support this unless it means a large cut to them in either percentage or total amount.

If you want to be paid for your work, go licence an engine and release a game.

As a sidenote, thats actually what AH could do that would be more profitable than pay-to-download mods: Licence the engine in the same vein as it was done with the games of old.

[minmay]

Aaand we're safe again! (for now)

[Slayer82]

Allegedly, this paid mod situation was being developed over the past three years, and was destroyed in three days.
Valve and Bethesda realised that they can only push the consumer so far, but they can still push them pretty far.