Valve's launch of paid mods on Elder Scrolls: Skyrim has caused one of the largest backlashes against Steam ever, leading to Gabe Newell starting a Reddit AMA to find out the issues with the decision.

In the AMA, Newell claimed he would look into whether paid mod support was a right decision, and if not, it will remove it from Skyrim. Even though this might sound like a victory, don't hold your breath for that to happen.

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Steam has become one of the best ways to install mods, easier than NexusMods for newbies and inside the store-front. As we expand into mods that recreate the entire game, it is clear paid support is in some way necessary to keep it going.

Several developers and teams have started Patreon funding or donation methods to keep the mod alive. We suspect Valve will add these options inside the client before packing up and moving away from paid mod support.

Donating to a certain mod would be a good way to keep it alive -- for as long as it is alive. This allows the user to pay what they want for the mod(s) and continue supporting the developer for as long as they feel necessary.

Valve will launch a pay-what-you-want mode soon, but right now the system is plagued with stolen mods, alongside spam mods that offer little to no creative change to Skyrim, and cost more than average full scale developments.

Several gaming forums like PCMasterRace, /r/gaming and NeoGaf are up in arms over the paid mod support, claiming it is Valve's first major misstep. This could seriously hurt Valve's previously dominant position in the PC gaming scene.

That said, there are 60 million Steam users, meaning no matter how big the outrage, Valve can still keep everyone calm. The extent of its issues will depend on its actions in the coming months however, and whether it can regain the trust of the community it has built over the years.

Bethesda Studios, the developers in charge of Skyrim, have not announced any plans to change the current mod support for its game.

TagsSteam Workshop, paid mods, Valve, steam