that is the real problem and threat, and the solution to this is the wordpress plugin method : mods are kept open source and as free as possible, whereas mods are downloaded via a token payment through steam workshop or modder's own site. or even mod packs/distributions which comprise over one mod. naturally the mod in these sources are well curated, up to date, bugfixed and neatly packed - which justifies for saving the hassle of making sure the mod works. its how wordpress became to handle ~20% of the websites on internet. (yeah, thats the actual statistic). the threat of closing down of modding is real. this is what private corporations do - use any/all means to maximize their profit, regardless of what it does to anyone/anything. look at EA. in another regard though, if they do that, bethesda would end up shoving their game up their ass. probably an open source project would start to create a framework to use for modding (what skyrim basically became with modding) and a new world and its community would be founded, without bethesda or its private owners/shareholders being anywhere in it. examples of that have happened in different aspects of software. and games are no exception.
