Extra Credits

Paid Mods (2015x19)

: 20, 2015

Valve's attempt to introduce a marketplace onto the Steam Workshop raises questions about the effect paid mods would have on the mod community and the game companies themselves. The modders get only a small percentage of sales, but that percentage is still better than the cost of licensing the game's brand or engine. Game developers must consider the risks of legal action if a modder sells content using copyrighted or trademarked material, because even if they had no direct hand in the content's creation, the fact that they make money from it may open them to lawsuits. It could also drive down the interest in DLC even further while driving up the demands on customer service, since players may have mistake bugs caused by their mods for bugs in the main game.