Steam Removes Payment Feature from Skyrim Workshop

Earlier this week Valve announced that they would be allowing content creators to profit from their Skyrim mods, but in response to mounting protest, they have now retracted this decision and removed the payment feature from the Skyrim Workshop.

Valve employee Alden announced yesterday that after heavy consideration, Valve and Bethesda came to the conclusion that it was the right choice to remove the payment option. Though their intention, Alden notes, was to allow community creators the possibility of making a living from their creative work, the heated response to erecting the paywall led them to believe that the Skyrim Workshop may not have been the best venue in which to begin this process.

In addition to the “dump truck of feedback” Valve received protesting the paywall, there was also a Change.org petition calling for the removal of paid content from the Steam Workshop. Cyand Wondel, the petition’s creator, argued that the poorly-gated process could lead to an influx of badly-made mods, which could hurt the Elder Scrolls brand. Steam users commented on the decision to remove the button citing similar concerns.

While many users are against being required to pay for the mods they want, some are not opposed to content creators making money – but as the petition notes, they feel it should be done via a donation button, so users can pay what – if anything – they want.

How do you feel about the reversal of Valve’s decision? Is a donation button a satisfactory compromise, or does this leave content creators too reliant on the generosity of users? Give us your thoughts in the comments.