Bethesda Removing Paid Skyrim Mods, “Feedback Has Been Clear”

If you’ve been keeping track of Valve Software’s new Steam Workshop changes and the introduction of paid mods for video games, you’ll no doubt be familiar with how quickly the whole plan unravelled. The Steam community started petitions and was up in a general uproar over the feature while some developers like Tripwire Interactive specifically stated in its EULA terms for Killing Floor 2 that all mods would have to be free.

Bethesda Softworks, one of the first developers to sign up for the new paid mods system with Skyrim and which released a lengthy blog post discussing the decision, has now confirmed that paid mods are going away. In an update on its blog, Bethesda said that, “After discussion with Valve, and listening to our community, paid mods are being removed from Steam Workshop. Even though we had the best intentions, the feedback has been clear – this is not a feature you want. Your support means everything to us, and we hear you.”

The developer was aware that its methods weren’t perfect but it wanted to see how it would ultimately work out. Rejection from the community is obviously enough of a deciding factor in that case.

What are your thoughts on the whole paid mods controversy? Let us know in the comments.