Angry gamers have forced Valve to end a system that let people who make modifications or "mods" for games get paid for their work. The paid-mod system was only switched on four days ago. The game-maker and online distributor had been heavily criticised on its own forums and in social media for the way the payment system was set up and being run.
Valve said it took the decision because of the "dump truck" of feedback it received from players and mod-makers. The cancellation will involve Valve refunding any payments gamers made to buy mods.
"We’ve done this because it’s clear we didn’t understand exactly what we were doing," explained Valve in a blog posted to the forums of its online game service Steam. Before Valve introduced the paid-for mod system, most mods available via Steam were free. The only way that creators of add-ons and extensions for games could get paid was to have their code included in official updates for Valve games.
Mods add all kinds of new content to games. Some just let people clothe characters in new outfits or use new weapons or mounts. The most ambitious mods add new levels, enemies and challenges to games. Valve said it started the payment system in a bid to expand the ways it could reward people who create game content for players.
"Our main goals were to allow mod-makers the opportunity to work on their mods full-time if they wanted to, and to encourage developers to provide better support to their mod communities," said Valve.
However, it added, it had underestimated the difference between its own revenue-sharing model and the complexities involved in the wider modding world.