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Skyrim’s enduring popularity can be credited to the game’s top-tier modding community, but rumours of a new update has left both modders and fans feeling worried. Free mods could soon become a thing of the past as it’s thought that Bethesda are planning to introduce a new mod marketplace.
If you’ve played Skyrim, chances are you’ve also experimented with a couple of mods. After all, the game is over 11 years old - it’s important to keep things fresh. In recent weeks, one modder released an incredible Mass Effect inspired expansion featuring 9,000 lines of dialogue. Another added six new islands to the game in a mod that’s essentially the size of a full DLC. Bethesda could soon change the modding landscape completely though.
Take a look at some of our favourite Skyrim wins and fails below.
As spotted by YouTuber JuiceHead, it appears that a new update may be on its way to Skyrim. Members of the Starfield Discord spotted that a ‘marketplace’ update had been listed on Skyrim’s Steam Database page on 16 November, followed by further updates in early December. These update branches are often used to upload and store updates before they’re later made live and available to the public. The last update branch to be added to the page came shortly before the release of the Skyrim ‘Anniversary Upgrade’.
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According to JuiceHead, the marketplace update could see Skyrim adopt a system similar to the Minecraft Marketplace which is essentially a storefront for mods. Players can purchase in-game currency to spend on mods while modders split revenue with Minecraft’s publishers. As JuiceHead points out, Bethesda boss Todd Howard has previously spoken out about how they’re “always looking for ways [modders] can turn it into a career.”
Howard also spoke about how he expected players to be enjoying Skyrim for another decade. Well, you have to ensure that longevity and mod content is a huge part of that. JuiceHead explained that earlier this year, it was rumoured that Creation Club was returning. The system saw modders earn a fixed fee for successful mod pitches made to Bethesda. The rumoured marketplace update could be a new iteration of this, providing a framework that Bethesda may use for many years to come.