

The mod is the house built on top of that foundation. Think of the original game as the foundation. The mod runs on top of the original game. Some game studios create custom "mod tools" for their games, making the process even easier for the less code-minded among us. In order to play a mod – even ones that are essentially full games – you need the underlying game on your computer. Sometimes, fans create new games altogether (we're looking at you, "DOTA"). Savvy fans dive into the back-end of their favorite games to fix bugs, update graphics, or introduce new elements. Valve is also offering a 24-hour refund policy on all Steam Workshop mod purchases as it continues to incentivize user-generated content commerce, having earlier this year allowed Steam Workshop users to charge money for in-game items (but not mods at large) they created for non-Valve games and then debuted its new Source 2 engine with a stated focus on user-generated content."Modding" is just jargon for "modifying" – altering – video games. They can also choose to send a set portion of their revenue to a Valve-approved user or community, like the Nexus Mods hosting platform. More information is available via the links above, as well as Valve's dedicated page for Steam Workshop paid content.

Presumably, content creators work out the details of that revenue split when they give their payment information to Valve, at which point they can choose to set prices for their mods or allow their patrons to pay what they want.


New supplemental terms for the Steam Workshop legal agreement state that "the percentage of Adjusted Gross Revenue that are entitled to receive will be determined by the developer/publisher of the Application" for which they've created content. People who sell Skyrim content on the Workshop get a 25 percent cut of the revenue, but it seems that the amount a content creator receive is ultimately up to a game's publisher or developer. Update: A Valve representative responded to Gamasutra's request for clarification on revenue splits by highlighting the Skyrim Steam Workshop page, which notes that all revenue from sales of Skyrim Steam Workshop content will be split between Valve, Bethesda and the content creator(s). This opens up more avenues for budding and established game developers to get paid for their work - as former SimCity artist Bryan Shannon is by creating Cities: Skylines mods - and furthers Valve's long-stated aims of democratizing content creation for games on its platform.
