Skyrim might be bringing back paid mods via Marketplace

If Skyrim's recent Steam development branches are anything to go by, the decade-old genre-defining title might be looking to implement paid mods once again. It seems Bethesda might be looking to incorporate a Marketplace, which has led to speculation regarding such mods making a return.

While Skyrim's first experience with paid mods wasn't received warmly, to say the least, titles like Minecraft and Roblox have created a successful thriving ecosystem for the same. Bethesda might be looking into implementing that, not only for Skyrim but also for other current and future titles including Fallout 4 and Starfield.

A lot of players recently noticed on SteamDB that Skyrim Special Edition received a new branch titled Hopper, starting in November of last year, with the description simply stating "Marketplace." For those unaware, Steam branches are generally used to test different builds of games, including beta versions.

The Marketplace on its own may not give any clue regarding the future of the game. However, as noted by popular content creator JuiceHead over on YouTube, a former member of the Creation Club shared that the service is coming back in a different form. But they restrained from sharing any further details due to an NDA.

In a Lex Friedman podcast back in November 2022, Todd Howard, director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, shared how he wants modders to actively create content for all Bethesda titles, whilst earning from it.

All of these hints have led to several community members, including well-known content creators such as MrMattyPlays and the aforementioned JuiceHead, speculate a Marketplace where modders will be able to sell their mods for the title.

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Creation Club might be making a comeback in Skyrim, but not the way you think

There are many Skyrim players who remember Bethesda's first attempt at a paid mod service via the Creation Club. While the idea of getting modders paid for their creations was certainly good, Bethesda's unfair pricing paired with the club's limitations led to it being a disaster. All the content was later bundled and released as Anniversary Edition.

The Hopper branch hinting at a Marketplace (Image via SteamDB)

Bethesda's The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim was released nearly 12 years ago, and was considered a genre-defining for modern-day open-world RPGs. Beyond it's post-release expansions, namely Dawnguard, Heartfire, and Dragonborn, the title has remained timeless due to its massive modding community.

From a simple new weapon or armor to a complete remake of older Elder Scrolls titles (Skywind and Skyblivion) or the massively ambitious Beyond Skyrim, modding has expanded the horizon for what can be done with the title.

While the idea of a Creation Club was great, in practice it was quite restrictive and resulted in unfair pricing. Not only was the service restrictive in what kind of mods could be included, modders were also paid based on certain milestones instead of popularity or sale of their content.

Bethesda's current parent company Microsoft Gaming has already proven how a thriving modding ecosystem can work with Minecraft Marketplace.

With the Bedrock Edition of Mojang's title, the service lets players buy different mods including skins, maps, custom quests, and more. Not only has this resulted in modders getting a fair share for their creations, but also small companies rising to create and sell modded content for Minecraft.

With recent hints at a Marketplace in Skyrim, Bethesda could take a similar path, for Elder Scrolls V, and also for Fallout 4 and the upcoming Starfield. It could open up the door to a thriving modding community, leading to the games becoming a platform for new items, maps, and quests for fans to play with for decades.