Bethesda Game Studios boss Todd Howard has responded to the backlash over Starfield’s paid mods, confirming that the developer will review its pricing model for Creations content.
On Steam, Starfield’s recent user reviews are now “Mostly Negative” after disgruntled players lashed out at Bethesda for charging $7 for a single Starfield mission. The second mission from the recently released Trackers Alliance is only available as a Starfield Creation and costs $7, or 700 credits.
Creations are built using Starfield’s Creation Kit and include free and paid mods. Creations include new missions, gear, skins and weapons. Here is the official announcement from Bethesda:
Trackers Alliance creates the first of several missions that allow you to live your best bounty hunting life. The first mission, The Starjacker, will have you contact a mysterious tracker located in populated areas in the Settled Systems. From there, let the hunt begin!
Trackers Alliance’s second mission, The Vulture, is available in the new Creations menu. And what bounty hunter is without his trusted methods of getting the job done?
Although this latest backlash revolves around The Vulture mission, Bethesda has faced criticism for paid mods before. Indeed, it is the studio’s constant efforts to enable paid mods for its games that has led some players to err.
“Really? Another push for curated paid mods that nobody wanted?” reads one negative review on Steam. “There’s one simple reason why many players and modders have enjoyed modding their games for decades: it’s done as a hobby, for players by players, with no corporate responsibilities and apart from donation opportunities, without asking or expecting monetary compensation.
“You’re not helping modding in the slightest. You’re trying to turn modding into a business opportunity, to be a parasite profiting from low-paying work you don’t want to do yourself.”
In an interview with MrMattyPlays YouTube ChannelTodd Howard responded directly to the criticism and confirmed his plans to revisit Bethesda’s pricing for Creations content.
“We hear that feedback as well,” Howard said. “The first thing I’ll say is that things are judged based on the things we’ve done before both in Creation Club and then in Fallout 76, and we’re always trying to look at what else is out there, really make sure we’re delivering value to everyone and where we’re not, hey, you know, we’ll definitely adjust.
“The one thing I want to say in The Trackers Alliance was really an attempt at something that we did at the Creation Club where we’d say, hey, you get this special outfit and you get this special weapon, we wanted to bring them together, and then you I thought let’s go the extra mile and cover those around a mission.
“But we’re definitely seeing the feedback now, aren’t we? And that’s not at all what we want in terms of, oh no, that looks like a faction that we chop up and then sell for 700 credits at a time. And so I think we’re going to look at that and how we deliver that kind of content and whether we change the pricing or break it up or what we need to do there. So, great feedback from the community.”
However, Howard insisted that Bethesda’s policy on paid mods is fundamental to the health of the modding community.
“As far as, especially the creators out there, look, our view is that a lot of them have gone from hobbyists to professionals. And it’s part of our job to make sure they can do that and get paid and see the cash rewards if they make great content,” Howard said.
Elsewhere, Howard confirmed plans to release a second Starfield story expansion after this year’s Shattered Space and commented on The Elder Scrolls 6’s long development.
Wesley is the UK news editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can contact Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or privately at wyp100@proton.me.
