Does Creation Club signal the end of player-made mods in future Bethesda games?

[alsoran]

Just to clarify, when I mention 'competition' I mean that free mods are competition to Creation Club paid DLC

For example Frostfall is competition for Survival Mode

 

If I were a shopkeeper I would not want some guy in the corner offering free groceries

 

The significance of compatibility issues is this...

Many players who use player-made mods may be reluctant to buy Creation Club DLC for fear of compatibility issues

Bethesda will know this is the case and thus may reason that anything that hinders players buying Creation Club DLC is bad for their business

 

I dont see these issues becoming critical problems for Skyrim players...

But as I say in my title they may have a big effect on future Bethesda games

It is possible there will be no general release of a Creation Kit for TES6

They may only supply tools to subcontractors

 

I'm concerned that its a slow creep to remove the freedom to mod from the grasp of PC gamers and I think they want to control their IP, its probarbly been in planning for some time . The current iteration of creation club is likely to break mod builds as they update and I would bet that in future it will fork significantly, probarbly with 6. Like you suggest I think they will give the best tools to contractors and if we're lucky there will be a two tier system, the cutdown version being on general release. If unlucky we'll see none at all. In order to use the creation kit you have to sign up to Bethesda.net. How easy would it be to control the distribution of mods through that portal? Are they killing the goose that lays the golden egg? I don't know, they may have decided that they can keep it alive through battery farming techniques serving the home console users who just want new stuff and are prepared to pay for it.

[wheelchairwillie]

right now? no. in the future? of course.
selling micro dlc >>>> $ than making new stuff. rockstar proved it so now everyone wants to copy it. bethesda isn't giving up double or triple digit million dollar micro dlcs profits by allowing free player mods lol
us pc users can complain all we want. their customers are xbox and playstation owners. they're used to paying for extra stuff, have no option to get mods elsewhere, can't pirate and is a several times bigger group anyhow.

 

 

"You can actually pinpoint the year Rockstar discovered microtransactions"

 

 

[castlebravo]

The modding community should "unionize" and offer their services to smaller game companies from the get-go if Bethesda wants to get mercenary. If game programmers actively cooperated with the community during the creation of the game I'd bet the results would be fantastic.

[Olivir2019]

This I will never believe. Are console versions of BSG games selling even 5 years after the launch? I am pretty sure the PCs are, and that is because of the mods. Without PC modding scene, the games with CC-only would earn maybe bigger money at first, but will fall into Oblivion shortly after.

 

right now? no. in the future? of course.
selling micro dlc >>>> $ than making new stuff. rockstar proved it so now everyone wants to copy it. bethesda isn't giving up double or triple digit million dollar micro dlcs profits by allowing free player mods lol
us pc users can complain all we want. their customers are xbox and playstation owners. they're used to paying for extra stuff, have no option to get mods elsewhere, can't pirate and is a several times bigger group anyhow.

 

[davidwalshireland]

I can see huge issues of compatibility and competition between player-made mods and in-game transactions

I think the reason many people dont see this is because they look at it from the point of view of a player - not a corporation

In other words from the point of view of a passionate fan of the game and not a salaried corporate financial officer or lawyer

And they will say things like, Bethesda is making enough money already...

No corporate CEO or financial officer would ever say that

 

Whereas previously the games were stand-alone games with a couple of substantial expansions

From now on Bethesda games will have a DLC store inside the game

Bethesda will be inside your game all the time; this changes everything in my opinion

 

I cannot see them providing creation tools for player made mods as they have in the past since those mods would disrupt their store and its DLC

and would be competition for their DLC

You can see the conflicts already as modders create mods that disable Creation Club functionality (FO4)

Does anyone really think a corporation is going to allow that?

 

At this time I just cannot see how the two can be reconciled

[Ethreon]

Regarding the PC argument - beth the publisher is pushing the console market very hard. So tbh I don't see this argument holding any weight anymore.

[davidwalshireland]

 

Just to clarify, when I mention 'competition' I mean that free mods are competition to Creation Club paid DLC

For example Frostfall is competition for Survival Mode

 

If I were a shopkeeper I would not want some guy in the corner offering free groceries

 

The significance of compatibility issues is this...

Many players who use player-made mods may be reluctant to buy Creation Club DLC for fear of compatibility issues

Bethesda will know this is the case and thus may reason that anything that hinders players buying Creation Club DLC is bad for their business

 

I dont see these issues becoming critical problems for Skyrim players...

But as I say in my title they may have a big effect on future Bethesda games

It is possible there will be no general release of a Creation Kit for TES6

They may only supply tools to subcontractors

 

I'm concerned that its a slow creep to remove the freedom to mod from the grasp of PC gamers and I think they want to control their IP, its probarbly been in planning for some time . The current iteration of creation club is likely to break mod builds as they update and I would bet that in future it will fork significantly, probarbly with 6. Like you suggest I think they will give the best tools to contractors and if we're lucky there will be a two tier system, the cutdown version being on general release. If unlucky we'll see none at all. In order to use the creation kit you have to sign up to Bethesda.net. How easy would it be to control the distribution of mods through that portal? Are they killing the goose that lays the golden egg? I don't know, they may have decided that they can keep it alive through battery farming techniques serving the home console users who just want new stuff and are prepared to pay for it.

 

 

Yes good points alsoran...

There are other games that have a lot of DLC and still have modding so maybe they will find a way

I dont know

I hope my worries turn out to be mistaken

[Olivir2019]

Regarding the PC argument - beth the publisher is pushing the console market very hard. So tbh I don't see this argument holding any weight anymore.

 

Then we have do agree to disagree. IMO, cutting off PCs and free modding takes away 90 % of potential mod creators and the game is dead within year or two.

[Ethreon]

 

Regarding the PC argument - beth the publisher is pushing the console market very hard. So tbh I don't see this argument holding any weight anymore.

 

Then we have do agree to disagree. IMO, cutting off PCs and free modding takes away 90 % of potential mod creators and the game is dead within year or two.

 

 

And the publishers who make their most money off the console care because.. ?

[Arthmoor]

 

Regarding the PC argument - beth the publisher is pushing the console market very hard. So tbh I don't see this argument holding any weight anymore.

 

Then we have do agree to disagree. IMO, cutting off PCs and free modding takes away 90 % of potential mod creators and the game is dead within year or two.

 

The game will be dead to us, but we are not the audience they are courting. PC in general is along for the ride and modding is only a tool R&D uses to farm ideas and potential talent pool for the CC.