PC users are used to the world of mods for their favorite games. From Fallout to Planet Coaster, mods bring extra depth to titles and add another dimension to play that the developers often haven’t thought of. But Valve boss Gabe Newell thinks that modders should be rewarded for their hard work of creating new content for successful titles.
In an interview with Venture Beat, Newell, the man behind the massive online marketplace Steam, explains those people who give up their own time to create often stunning content for games should be able to charge for their work. It is his view that the world of video games as a whole is connected, justifying his position by saying, “Nothing helps sell your game like other people building successful games.”
Steam attempted to bring paid mods into their marketplace for the open-world epic from Bethesda, Skyrim. The idea was widely criticized by the community, and was quickly dissolved. Gabe Newell describes Steam’s attempt at bringing monetization to the mod world as being “ham fisted.” Despite Valve’s previous failure, he still believes people that help to make a game successful by making popular modifications are, “Creating value, and the degree to which they are not being accurately compensated is a bug in the system.”
There are no plans for Valve to re-introduce a system whereby mods will become premium content. Newell admits that if they had not made such a poor attempt with their Skyrim marketplace, then that might be a different story. In his own words, Newell says “Oh, that burner is hot! Maybe we should wait a while before we put our hands on that burner again.”
For any further news surrounding the latest developments in the mod world, be sure to check back into Gamespresso.