The large modding site Nexus Mods has announced several big changes that it says are designed to make it easier for modders to make a living through their work. Starting in August, modders will no longer be able to truly delete mods from Nexus–though they can “archive” them and make them inaccessible to an average user, they can still be downloaded under certain circumstances.
As the lengthy blog post announcing the move explains, this new archiving system is meant to help modders and players build “collections,” which are sets of mods that work together to create a desired experience. When a mod is archived, though players won’t be able to download it from Nexus directly, the mod will still be included in collections that feature it, and it can be downloaded as part of that collection.
Nexus staff argue that that collections will make it easier for entry-level users to mod popular games like Skyrim without worrying about compatibility issues, or having to comb through long lists of mods. They also hope that these collections will help more modders receive funds through the site’s Donation Points system, which was introduced back in 2018. Given the scope of these changes, they’ll obviously draw a variety of responses, but the overall tenor of reactions appeared to be positive. Modders who would like their work wiped permanently from Nexus Mods have until August 5 to file a request with the site.
While some games are more known for their modding scenes than others, particularly Bethesda games like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series, there are many notable mods coming out all the time. For example, the highly-anticipated Dark Souls fan sequel Nightfall is slated to come out this December, and one modder recently made one for Mass Effect Legendary Edition that gives the game a first-person view. We don’t know when the collection feature will come to Nexus Mods, but the blog post seems to suggest that it will roll out soon to a group of trusted users, so keep an eye out for it.
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