Bethesda will never learn; they will keep pushing this garbage onto consumers until people eventually stop resisting and accept it.
Whether you’re a purist or an enthusiast of game modifications and the communities that form around them, there is one aspect that everyone universally despises: paid game modifications. Valve attempted to monetize Steam Workshop submissions in April 2015, allowing content creators to publish game mods on Steam and earn money from them.
This system required users to purchase these mods in order to download and install them.
Hilariously, the first game to support this was Bethesda’s own Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. The concept of having to pay for user created mods didn’t go over well with gamers, it was so universally hated that Valve actually scrapped the concept merely a week later, refunding those who’ve been scammed in the process.
The concept persisted and evolved over the years, leading to Bethesda’s implementation of the “Creation Club” in October 2017. This in-game microtransactional store offered curated game modifications. Since these were in-game microtransactional downloads, the revenue generated from purchases was shared. The mod creators, who received preferential treatment and greater access from Bethesda, earned a portion of the proceeds, while Bethesda also took a cut of the profits.
Bethesda continues to frustrate gamers by frequently updating Fallout 4 and Skyrim, seemingly to break mod compatibility each time. They re-released Skyrim yet again, this time as the Anniversary Edition, which bundled the Special Edition with 74 user-created mods from the Creation Club.
By December 2023, the Creation Club was discontinued and replaced with a smaller collection of “Verified Creations” curated by Bethesda, purchasable with the same “Creation Credits” at a rate of $1 for 100 credits, and of course we can’t forget to mention the egregious Fallout 76 scam.
Essentially, it’s the same scheme under a different name.
Other games have reluctantly experimented with charging customers for curated game modifications. ARK: Survival Ascended, a more flawed UE5 remake of the notoriously broken ARK: Survival Evolved, includes curated mods that may require a purchase. Microsoft recently introduced a system for buying “add-ons” for Minecraft via the Minecraft Marketplace.
Previously, it was relatively easy to search for and download mods for Minecraft. Now, children can be coaxed into purchasing “Minecoins,” which they can spend on the Minecraft Marketplace for curated mods like the popular “One Block” game mode or the “Skibidi Toilet” mod, you can even purchase character skins for Minecoins as well.
However, Bethesda is up to their old tricks again by incorporating paid curated mods for their recent release of Starfield. Starfield, the first game from Bethesda Game Studios since 2015’s Fallout 4, is a large, expansive space RPG that is bound to Microsoft’s ecosystem and will not be releasing on PlayStation consoles.
It was one of the most anticipated game releases of 2023 until it actually launched. Consumers were once again treated to a buggy, broken game from Bethesda, with Starfield itself being rather average.
The main story was dull, the side quests were solid enough but ultimately the game lacked variety in explorable locations, and it did not offer a true open world, a common feature in their previous games. Baldur’s Gate 3, despite its queer romance and bear fucking antics, stole Starfield’s thunder by delivering a comprehensive RPG experience that didn’t require mods to make the game playable.
Starfield did at the very least release with gendered pronouns in the create a character screen combined with some of the most ugly and horrifying NPC models imaginable.
A recent game update to Starfield, one that had been long awaited by those seemingly still exploring the cosmos looking for a sliver of hope that there might be something to do in the game that’s actually fun, the latest update to the game added Bethesda’s infamous “Creations” allowing players to download and install various game mods for Starfield, many of which require Creation Credits to purchase.
What has ultimately kept Bethesda’s previous games relevant over the years is the combination of expansive worlds like Skyrim’s and the hundreds of thousands of mods produced over the past decade. A major letdown with Starfield was the absence of an official SDK (Creation Kit) at launch, preventing aspiring modders from freely tweaking the game. Although some mods were produced, they were insignificant and difficult to create, leading to limited interest.
Bethesda finally released the Creation Kit for Starfield on June 10th, 2024 alongside paid mods, approximately 278 days after its release, giving modders the tools to freely modify the game.
And allowing players to spend their money on purchasing game modifications such as interior decorations.
For example, the Ancient Mariner Module pack costs $10, and the Constellation Plushie Set, which adds funny plushies to the game, is available for $3. If these don’t sound appealing, you can buy the Deluxe Dynamic Boost pack for $1, which modifies your jetpack functionality, increasing movement speed and mobility, features that could likely be adjusted via the in-game console for free. However, some players may choose to pay Bethesda and a modder for the convenience.
Needless to say, the implementation of paid mods, despite the introduction of the Creation Kit, allowing modders to implement the usual fanfare mods typical for Bethesda games, such as boob jiggle physics and sex mods into Starfield, players have responded in kind by review bombing Starfield on the Steam store.
The game had already received mixed reviews at launch, but an influx of around 1,500 negative reviews since June 10th has dropped its overall rating to 59%, with only 26% of the reviews in the past 30 days being positive.
Bethesda employees, for the most part, seem unable to handle criticism. This was evident when one employee responded to negative reviews and feedback about Starfield on Steam. Players complained that the game felt empty and void of content.
The employee retorted that players should find other things to do when the game feels boring and insisted that the majority of planets in Starfield are supposed to be empty by design. According to the employee, this isn’t boring—after all, astronauts weren’t bored when they went to the moon, despite its emptiness.
In response to the small outcry from gamers voicing their frustrations about Bethesda’s paid mod practices and Starfield, the studio director, Todd Howard, has addressed these concerns.
In a video interview with YouTuber MrMattyPlays, Todd Howard stated that the company has heard the community’s feedback and plans to adjust its approach to paid mods in the future.
“First of all I’ll say that stuff gets priced based on things that we’ve done before both in Creation Club and then Fallout 76, and we’re always trying to be looking at what else is out there, really make sure we’re giving value to everybody and where we’re not, hey you know, we definitely will adjust.
“But now we definitely see the feedback right? And that’s not what we want at all in terms of, oh no, this looks like a faction that we’re chopping up and then selling for 700 credits at a time. And so I do think we are going to take a look at that and how we deliver content like that, and whether we’re changing pricing or breaking it up or what we should do there. So, great feedback from the community.”
Howard added that Bethesda wants to “reward” modders for their efforts, stating that many modders have transitioned from hobbyists to professionals. He emphasized that as the developers of the game that fuels their passion, Bethesda feels responsible for their progression and aims to ensure they can pursue their interests and get paid for it.
According to Howard, monetary rewards boost incentivization and lead to the creation of awesome content.
Companies often claim they wish to monetize user-created game modifications under the pretext of supporting the community and allowing creators to be compensated for their efforts. However, it’s the same story as always. Starfield is Bethesda’s game, and it’s not enough that they’ve sold tens of millions of copies of Skyrim multiple times. They want to monetize Starfield’s community, as they have done with Fallout and Skyrim, allowing Bethesda to profit from the content of others.
They give creators a percentage of the proceeds and enhanced access to unique and more expansive SDK tools, enabling them to produce better, larger modifications that other creators simply cannot.
Bethesda’s older games have remained vibrant thanks to a massive influx of modifications from a large community. In contrast, Starfield launched with virtually zero impact. The main story was disappointing, there was little to do beyond the main quest, and the game suffered from monumental load times.
It took nearly a year for the SDK to be released, allowing players to create without restrictions. Although the game was review bombed, the negative reviews were still fewer than those for Helldivers 2.
Despite constant pushback from consumers regarding paid mods, Bethesda continues to force them onto both old and new games. Instead of focusing on updating and expanding their games, Bethesda is monetizing in-game expansions and side quests, such as the “Trackers Alliance: The Vulture” creation, which costs 700 Creation Credits to play.
Bethesda is charging $7 for a single side quest. No wonder the concurrent player counts for Starfield are so pitiful compared to their earlier games. Enthusiasm and support for Starfield have seemingly dried up, while Skyrim continues to push the boundaries of what game mods can achieve, especially with the integration of artificial intelligence.
Todd Howard’s “response” is simply a non-answer. The few consumers still engaged with the game are unhappy. While Bethesda may adjust their pricing strategy, ultimately, nothing significant will change. If Bethesda truly wanted to appear as a moral company, they could allow mod creators to set their own prices and take the vast majority of profits. However, Bethesda seems more focused on maximizing their return on investment for a game that likely flopped financially due to its inclusion in Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass.
