VonBobberton

I noticed this thread after I posted my other one. Sorry about the redundancy, I just got a little excited thinking about sharing this. Here goes! Rather than a customer facing price system that subverts mods into low quality DLC, I propose that Bethesda and other developers directly reward modders that consistantly deliver added value to their IP through an opt-in program that rewards modders based on their number of subscribers. This opt-in program would have a threshold value for payouts of something like 10,000 subscribers before money could be earned. The payouts would be capped at something like 20% of net developer profits per month (not gross profits, mind you). The payout per subscriber per month would be determined by the total payout amount divided by the total number of mods over 10,000 subscribers times the pooled number of unique subscribers, while being capped at something like $0.01 per subscriber to prevent massive payouts to early creators while still sufficiently incentivizing them to be first. Restrictions would also be placed on mods that infringe on third party IP, so that they could not opt in to the program. Ideally, documentation would have to be submitted for approval to opt in. This model would go over much better with the community and the consumers, while recognizing and rewarding value creators without nickel and dime-ing the consumer to the point of frustration. Steam wouldn't need a direct cut from this as it would be part of their value proposal to potential developer customers since subscribers would need to be tracked through steam to verify purchases and they would already be profiting from their cut of the gross profits of the developer. This would also not stifle creative endeavors by the community outside of Steam while still incentivizing them to use the workshop platform. This is what I see as both equitable and tenable for all parties involved. Feel free to make suggestions or share this idea where you think it may gain traction.

I see that in my excitement, I posted a redundant thread. I'll move my proposal over there, so please reply to it there.

Rather than simply refuting the current system, I think we need to offering a viable alternative. Here's my proposal for one such program: Rather than a customer facing price system that subverts mods into low quality DLC, I propose that Bethesda and other developers directly reward modders that consistantly deliver added value to their IP through an opt-in program that rewards modders based on their number of subscribers. This opt-in program would have a threshold value for payouts of something like 10,000 subscribers before money could be earned. The payouts would be capped at something like 20% of net developer profits per month (not gross profits, mind you). The payout per subscriber per month would be determined by the total payout amount divided by the total number of mods over 10,000 subscribers times the pooled number of unique subscribers, while being capped at something like $0.01 per subscriber to prevent massive payouts to early creators while still sufficiently incentivizing them to be first. Restrictions would also be placed on mods that infringe on third party IP, so that they could not opt in to the program. Ideally, documentation would have to be submitted for approval to opt in. This model would go over much better with the community and the consumers, while recognizing and rewarding value creators without nickel and dime-ing the consumer to the point of frustration. Steam wouldn't need a direct cut from this as it would be part of their value proposal to potential developer customers since subscribers would need to be tracked through steam to verify purchases and they would already be profiting from their cut of the gross profits of the developer. This would also not stifle creative endeavors by the community outside of Steam while still incentivizing them to use the workshop platform. This is what I see as both equitable and tenable for all parties involved. Feel free to make suggestions or share this idea where you think it may gain traction.