Latest Starfield Controversy Is Sadly Repeating Bethesda History (2024)

Along with the reveal of new content for Starfield, Bethesda has unfortunately reignited an old controversy around the introduction of paid mods to their games. The most recent RPG to be released by Bethesda, Starfield takes the studio's open-world approach to space, creating a new setting that doesn't make use of either of the IPs that have become Bethesda's signature franchises. But, while the game has garnered a generally positive reception, it also hasn't managed to avoid its fair share of criticism.

As Bethesda's RPG franchises, including The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and now Starfield have grown bigger and more successful, modding has also become an increasingly large part of their identity. Historically, modding for Bethesda RPGs (and in general) is a community-driven effort, offered for free with minimal or no involvement from the publishers or developers who officially released the game. As modding has become a more central part of Bethesda's RPGs, however, the company has been trying to become involved in a more official capacity — and not always in ways that are welcomed by the larger community.

Bethesda's History Of Paid Mods

Bethesda Has Managed To Introduce Paid Mods - Despite Heavy Backlash

With the recent introduction of the Creation Club to Bethesda's latest RPG, Starfield is facing heavy backlash on Steam, as players protest the addition of paid mods with negative reviews - made worse by the release of an underwhelming paywalled quest, "The Vulture," on the Creations marketplace. As many longtime Bethesda fans are likely aware, it's hardly the first time that the studio has introduced paid mods to an overwhelmingly negative reception. Whether through its own corporate interests or genuine efforts to support the modding community, Bethesda has a long history of trying to curate "premium" mods.

While at this point, paid mods for Bethesda games are synonymous with the studio's own Creation Club, integrated directly into the games themselves, the studio's first attempt at it was actually through Valve's Steam Workshop. Announced in 2015, the decision almost immediately proved itself to be extremely unpopular, with several satirical paid mods being posted to the Steam Workshop in protest, and the negative response was so overwhelming that the decision was reversed after a single week. A second announcement on April 27, 2015, apologized for the decision and offered refunds for any money spent on mods.

The next attempt came two years later when, in 2017, Bethesda introduced the Creation Club for the first time in Fallout 4. Unlike the Steam Workshop attempt, Creation Club was integrated more directly into the game and mostly encompassed mods specifically curated by Bethesda, allowing console players to make use of the mods as well. And while there was still significant backlash to the Creation Club, to the point that some players filed a class-action lawsuit against Bethesda, the negative response ultimately didn't overturn the decision as it had with the Steam Workshop attempt.

But while the more curated approach of the Creation Club has stopped it from being flooded with entries critical of the studio's approach to modding, it hasn't prevented heavy backlash towards every re-emergence of paid mods in new Bethesda games (or re-releases of old games). The perception of many players is that modding should remain a community effort, with little-to-no involvement from official parties, and — more importantly — that it should remain completely free to engage in, outside the potential for modders to solicit voluntary donations for monetary support.

Creations Are (Probably) Here To Stay — But Bethesda Should Still Be Careful

Bethesda's Mistakes Are Drawing Even More Negative Attention To The Creation Club

Despite the negative attention that it draws, however, it's safe to say the Creation Club will continue to stick around, as Starfield is already the third game that it's been implemented in. Though many players are wary of Bethesda's continued push for paid mods, the backlash has yet to reach the heights of the Steam Workshop incident - and or Bethesda's part in the situation, the studio has wisely refrained from trying to restrict the creation of free mods on platforms like NexusMods. In all likelihood, this separation from the free, more community-based platforms has contributed to the lessened backlash.

Muddying the waters for the Creation Club, however, is the inclusion of the paywalled Tracker's Alliance quest in the most recent update, where, as previously mentioned, an official, Bethesda-developed quest called "The Vulture" was made to cost actual money on the Creations storefront. This being official content from Bethesda, and, in many players' eyes, not worth the approximately $10 price tag, has sparked additional backlash - especially since "The Vulture" branches off from an initially free quest, and the studio has already promised more Tracker's Alliance content in the future.

The addition of the Tracker's Alliance to the Creation Club, unfortunately, undermines one of Bethesda's central arguments for it — that paid Creations heavily benefit mod creators and allow them to actually support themselves through their work. While it's still true that modders deserve to be able to profit from their work, which can match or even exceed official content, the argument starts looking much weaker coming from Bethesda when the studio seems to be primarily interested in introducing predatory pay-per-mission practices that attempt to nickle-and-dime players for what, at least so far, has been underwhelming content.

While the unveiling of the Shattered Space DLC, and more new content besides, should on paper be a happy occasion for Starfield players, the most recent update for the game has instead brought an old controversy back to the forefront of discussions surrounding the game. While Bethesda has, at this point, basically succeeded in introducing paid mods to their games, the studio may still want to tread lightly, as further missteps like the Tracker's Alliance quest could spark a larger wave of negativity for Starfield's future content, modded or not.

Starfield

Platform(s)

PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

September 6, 2023

Developer(s)

Bethesda

Publisher(s)

Bethesda

Genre(s)

Action , RPG

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence