Today Valve launched a new Workshop system for Steam allowing content creators to sell their "mods, items, or maps" on the platform. To kick off the new feature, Valve has partnered with Bethesda to support mod sales for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. No other games currently support mod sales, though Valve says they are working with other partners and will support the service on other games soon.
However, unlike Valve's previous efforts to support the sale of content created within the community, the sale of mods has come across as highly controversial. Steam's system seems unfairly balanced towards benefiting Bethesda and Valve themselves, rather than the content creator, and the system itself is easily susceptible to misuse. Specifically, here are the provisions which content creators and the Skyrim community take issue with:
Content Creators
- 25% of Each Sale - According to the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Workshop Terms, content creators will earn only 25% of revenue from each sale. The remaining percentage is split between Valve and the game's publisher or developer, based on undisclosed terms.
- $100 Payout Minimum - Before a content creator will see even a penny of the money they've earned, they'll have to earn a sum of at least $100. Anything lower and Valve will not be able to cash out the content creator's earnings.
- DMCA Only - Should someone's work be stolen and listed, Valve has only a rudimentary DMCA notice system in place to handle complaints. There appears to be no system in place to repay content creators for stolen work, nor even a guarantee that their work be removed at all.
- Non-Removal - Even should a content creator send a DMCA notice and have their stolen work taken down, Valve's FAQ implies that the work will continue to remain on their service for anyone who purchased the item.
- Valve Encourages Build on Others' Work - Despite having no system in place to verify a content creator's ownership, nor a way to request stolen content be taken down, Valve does encourage modders to build on others creations -- so long as they allocate revenue with no oversight.
- Q. Can I include someone else's mod in my mod?
- A. The Steam Workshop makes it easy to allocate and approve portions of your item’s revenue with other collaborators or co-authors
Content Buyers
- 24- Hour Refunds - Valve will offer refunds for content bought, but only for 24 hours. No mention of possible refunds is made should a game update breaks the mod, or if a mod update breaks the mod either.
- Q. What happens if a mod I bought breaks?
- A. Sometimes one mod may modify the same files as another mod, or a particular combination of mods may cause unexpected outcomes. If you find that mod has broken or is behaving unexpectedly, it is best to post politely on the Workshop item's page and let the mod author know the details of what you are seeing.
- Pay to Whom? - With Skyrim, for example, content purchasers know that 25% goes to the content creator. As for the 75% remaining, it is unclear how much Bethesda takes for itself, how much Valve takes for maintenance, and how much Valve takes for profit.
Several petitions have already popped up online requesting that Valve end the service, as well as several boycotts within the community for both Bethesda and Steam products.
That said, 19 mods are already available for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim on the service, with more likely to follow very quickly. How many sales have already taken place? It's impossible to tell, especially because items can only be rated by someone who has purchased them and apparently no ratings can go through until after the refund period of 24 hours ends. At least, that's the only reason I can imagine why there are no ratings.
Will Valve respond to the criticism? Will the community's fears of the service exploiting content creators prove true? Or will the community, unable to help itself, buy into the hype and start buying mods in quantity.
Just to do the math for an example, the Blazing Ringsword by Fido is currently available for $.25 on the Steam Workshop for Skyrim. In order for Fido to get the $100 necessary to cash out his profits, he'll have to raise a total of $400. That's $300 or 75% for Bethesda and Valve, and $25% or $100 for Fido. At $.25 a sale, that's 1600 Blazing Ringswords that need to be sold for Fido to get paid. Interesting to think about, right?
source Neoseeker News Feed http://ift.tt/1JzjW1A
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