Popular modding site Nexus Mods recently announced an update to its paid modding policy, and, as ever, the topic seems to be a never-ending source of controversy, with somewhat mixed reactions from players and modders alike.
So after parsing the comments about the update, which outlines its stance that “modding should be first and foremost a pursuit of passion,” the team at the modding site has now shared an update, which at one point suggested it hinted at some frustrated Groups would do well to try to put more pressure on platforms that allow and support paid mods to improve the functionality of their products.
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“Thank you all for your feedback on the policy announcement. We’ve been reading your comments in the forums, our mod author Discord, and several external communities,” Nexus Mods community manager Pickysaurus wrote in a new post. “We can see that some authors – often those currently benefiting from the Verified Creators Program – are uncomfortable with parts of the policy, while large numbers of users generally praise the changes.”
They went on to say that the “tremendous anger over this change” appears to be related to people enjoying the features that Nexus Mods currently offers users, with the community manager stating that these features are considered “better than those offered by paid modding platforms.” “We’re flattered by this,” Pickysaurus wrote, “but we’re also careful to point out that if you wish to use these features on platforms that support paid mods, you should pressure those platforms to better support them ‘s paid mod ecosystem.”
Next, the site did address criticism of its announced new policy regarding patches for paid mods or mods that rely on the use of paid mods it hosts. Pickysaurus wrote: “We will be adjusting this part of the policy to allow compatibility patches to be posted on mod pages alongside free content to enable better interoperability with paid content.” The purpose of the content is to support paid content/interoperability with Interaction with paid content is not allowed. “
You can find information about the revised policy here , but the basic gist seems to be that modders will be allowed to provide patches that will only allow their mods to work with paid mods, provided said paid mods are not Hard requirements. Free, as long as this is just an optional file on the free mods page. Translations for paid mods will not be covered and therefore must be hosted on another platform that allows paid mods.
“It is not lost on us that this change does not address all the issues you raised,” Pickysaurus continued, “for example, we know that many patches/translations were not made by the original authors of the mod. In these cases, We recommend that patch creators ask the original author of the free content to add the patch to their mod page (if possible), or upload their patch to a paid mod provider.
“To be clear, we’re not trying to say you shouldn’t use paid mods,” they concluded, “but we want Nexus Mods to be able to offer free mods so that when modders come to our community, They get the complete user journey – from start to finish – and everything they get on the site is free, and the mods are free.
Where do you stand on the issue of paid mods? Let us know below.