One of the biggest problems with paid mods was evident almost immediately. There was bunch of mods uploaded to Steam workshop which contained assets stolen from other modders. This pissed off many modders who openly said that in case of monetizing mods they will cease modding Bethesda games.
There are several other problems with getting paid mods for a game like Skyrim where mods are not only cosmetic but add functionality and expand the game itself.
To create anything more complex then recoloring of armor or building something with in game assests you need third party utilities which are free since they are made by modders for modders. If mods get monetized expect those utilities to also get price tag, which would alienate a number of future modders.
Complex mods need a lot of work and modding community helps with creating them both by releasing utilites to make modders life easier but also with advices, sharing assets and play testing. If mods are monetized few would be eager to help their competition.
As mentioned fear of stealing assets would with above mentioned things cripple the community which in return would produce far less more complex quality mods.
Bethesda would be hurt in the long run since mods expand shelf life of the game, the better the community the game will sell longer. Not to mention that many people who buy Bethesda games are well aware that their games are very flawed and few are eager to buy 60$ game, 40$ season pass and spend 100$ extra for unofficial patches, UI fixes and bunch of other mods that make their games actually playable.
There are several other problems with getting paid mods for a game like Skyrim where mods are not only cosmetic but add functionality and expand the game itself.
To create anything more complex then recoloring of armor or building something with in game assests you need third party utilities which are free since they are made by modders for modders. If mods get monetized expect those utilities to also get price tag, which would alienate a number of future modders.
Complex mods need a lot of work and modding community helps with creating them both by releasing utilites to make modders life easier but also with advices, sharing assets and play testing. If mods are monetized few would be eager to help their competition.
As mentioned fear of stealing assets would with above mentioned things cripple the community which in return would produce far less more complex quality mods.
Bethesda would be hurt in the long run since mods expand shelf life of the game, the better the community the game will sell longer. Not to mention that many people who buy Bethesda games are well aware that their games are very flawed and few are eager to buy 60$ game, 40$ season pass and spend 100$ extra for unofficial patches, UI fixes and bunch of other mods that make their games actually playable.