Skyrim modders feel that Nexus’ new policies are a direct attack on their freedom to make content

Skyrim modders have recently started to feel that Nexus is practically taking away their freedom to make quality content for gamers.

Nexus is a forum where people upload mods for several games. They primarily post mods for games such as Skyrim, Fallout, Monster Hunter, and others to provide some form of alteration to the game.

The fun aspect about modding is that users can post anything they want as long as there’s no violation in the terms and conditions of the game, namely cheats in general.

With the new Nexus Mods update policy and the direction the site is going, I am considering removing all my existing content.

— nic (@Aarwyn) July 1, 2021

However, Nexus mods have been an excellent medium to date for those whose creations will probably not be accepted officially yet provide some unique takes on a game. It seems, though, that the current policies of Nexus mods might be infringing on that freedom that players had till now.

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Skyrim modders unhappy with Nexus mods’ new policy; feel it goes against ethics

It is crucial to understand that Nexus is not a paid medium. Modders do not have a yearly or monthly salary, and the money they earn is primarily through donations by players. The drive to make mods comes from a passion for the game and the drive to do something for the community.

However, Nexus recently updated its terms, where modders cannot delete their uploads anymore. This was primarily done as a method to prevent mods from damaging saved files.

I deleted all my skyrim mods and made a new modlist and oh my god is it so much better pic.twitter.com/4mZ5kK6VTt

— purÄnsz (@ilikeplantsz) August 13, 2021

It often happens that one mod is dependent on another to function. Therefore, if one goes absent, it can lead to crashes and even tamper with the game files. However, in most cases, modders mention such aspects on their pages.

In fact, most modders do not delete mods unless they feel their creation is not living up to the standards or unless they lose interest.

It now seems the mods will be added to collections, and authors can hide them instead of deleting them. This means that if an author does not want to update the mod anymore, an old version will remain forever.

One game that depends quite heavily on mods for its success is Skyrim. It is a titan in the world of RPG games, and modders make it even more special.

Skyrim has been alive for so many years because modders decided to keep it that way, even though Bethesda has released several versions of the same game. This new Nexus policy is basically a means to infringe on the freedom of modders as they are not earning anything.

On one hand, having your work always be available is a good thing from a preservation standpoint. On the other it violates your privacy and removes what tenuous control over mods, the authors had in the first place.

— Aria (@BestGirlAria) July 29, 2021

Therefore, taking away the right to upload and delete mods at will may ultimately hurt the game. It seems several Skyrim modders are already deleting their mods before the new effect takes place, and this is a significant issue.

New players who want to enjoy the mods will not be able to do so, and thus, it affects the community overall.