So far, not everyone is pleased with the launch of paid mods on Steam. A petition has risen basically #demanding that #Valve “remove the #paidcontent of the Steam Workshop” on Change.org. And so far it’s attracted some 34,000 signatures in less than 24 hours.
“The workshop is a place for people to share content with each other they made so all can enjoy it for free,” the petition states. “Mods should be a free creation. Creations made by people who wish to add to the game so others can also enjoy said creation with the game. We need to unite and reject this act by Valve. Unite have Valve remove the paid content of the Workshop.”
The tipping point for many paid mods, are some of the current Skyrim mods available. Like the Extra Apple mod, priced at $35, which does precisely what it is supposed too: adding an extra apple to the counter in The Bannered Mare. Then the Rubbish Bucket DLC, which gives you a bucket for your rubbish, or it will when it’s done. Still in the Early Access phase, this gives the player a pile of wood on the floor, which will set you back another $3.
Being that modders can charge whatever they want for their creativity, based on the “Supplemental Workshop Terms“. Then keeping a percentage of income determined by the developer or publisher of the game. Prices for mods can be changed, but limits can be placed the frequency, and creators are able to unlist their mods whenever they choose, without being able to delete them. Obviously to ensure people who paid for them continue to have access. Where is Valve’s slice of the price, Lombardi says the company will take “the same share of sales as we do with any other microtransaction sale.”
“Newly posted items to be sold must first appear as visible to the community without a purchase option before they can be sold,” Vice President of Marketing Doug Lombardi explained. “This will provide some time for the community to help identify abuse or stolen content and report appropriately. It’s also a time that developers can use to review pending items and decide if any intervention is necessary.”
Knowone is really able to figure out how an open mod market pan out. Which could turn into a big winner for Valve and mod creators. And even though Valve is under no obligation to respond to the petition, there are 48,000 people playing Skyrim. However the number of signatories is climbing which could make it hard to ignore.
