Bethesda's Creation Club is more like DLC than paid mods

E3 2017 - Bethesda got into hot water with its new Creation Club program, which allows gamers to buy credits with real money to spend on extra content in Skyrim and Fallout 4. But the publisher has revealed new details about the initiative, clearing up some important facts.

Bethesda's new Creation Club program is less like paid mods, and is more like extra high-quality DLC snippets made internally from the studio themselves. The publisher says that the content sold on Creation Club aren't mods--they're high-quality pieces of content that must pass Q&A testing, including full Alpha and Beta phases.

"Creation Club is a collection of all-new content for both Fallout 4 and Skyrim. It features new items, abilities, and gameplay created by Bethesda Games Studios and outside development partners including the best community creators. Creation Club content is fully curated and compatible with the main game and official add-ons," Bethesda says.

Yes, gamers will spend real money to buy credits on the Bethesda.net framework, and then use those credits to buy in-game content. Bethesda iterates that everything sold on the Creation Club storefront is developed by its own dev teams and outside dev partners including "the best community creators." The content will be regulated for quality and likely be protected against piracy, and will allow the top-tier mod-makers to make cash for their creations.

"Is Creation Club paid mods? No. Mods will remain a free and open system where anyone can create and share what they'd like. Also, we won't allow any existing mods to be retrofitted into Creation Club, it must all be original content. Most of the Creation Club content is created internally, some with external partners who have worked on our games, and some by external Creators.

"All the content is approved, curated, and taken through the full internal dev cycle; including localization, polishing, and testing. This also guarantees that all content works together.

"We've looked at many ways to do "paid mods", and the problems outweigh the benefits. We've encountered many of those issues before. But, there's a constant demand from our fans to add more official high quality content to our games, and while we are able to create a lot of it, we think many in our community have the talent to work directly with us and create some amazing new things."

A full Creation Club FAQ can be found below. The service will launch Summer 2017 for Fallout 4 and Skyrim: Special Edition on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

What is the Creation Club?

Creation Club is a collection of all-new content for both Fallout 4 and Skyrim. It features new items, abilities, and gameplay created by Bethesda Games Studios and outside development partners including the best community creators. Creation Club content is fully curated and compatible with the main game and official add-ons.

What types of content will be included in Creation Club?

Creation Club will feature a wide variety of content including but not limited to:

• WEAPONS: New weapons, material skins, parts, etc.
• APPAREL: New outfits, armor, and items for your character.
• WORLD: New locations, decorations, foliage, etc.
• CHARACTERS: New abilities, characters, companions, etc.
• CREATURES: New enemies, mounts, pets, etc.
• GAMEPLAY: New types of gameplay like survival mode, etc.

What platforms will Creation Club support?

Creation Club will be available in Summer 2017 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC for Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition.

How do I get Creation Club content?

Creation Club is available via in-game digital marketplaces in both Fallout 4 and Skyrim Special Edition and purchased with Credits. Credits are available for purchase on PSN, Xbox Live, and Steam. Your Credits are transferable and can be used in both games on the same platform.

Can I become a Creator?

Whether you are a professional developer, artist, or modder; you can apply to be a Creator here. Be ready to share work you've already done as part of your application.

If I'm accepted to be a Creator, what can I create and what is the dev process?

Creators are required to submit documentation pitches which go through an approval process. All content must be new and original. Once a concept is approved, a development schedule with Alpha, Beta and Release milestones is created. Creations go through our full development pipeline, which Creators participate in. Bethesda Game Studios developers work with Creators to iterate and polish their work along with full QA cycles. The content is fully localized, as well. This ensures compatibility with the original game, official add-ons and achievements.

Are Creators Paid For Their Work?

Yes. Just like our own game developers, Creators are paid for their work and start receiving payment as soon as their proposal is accepted and through development milestones.

Is Creation Club paid mods?

No. Mods will remain a free and open system where anyone can create and share what they'd like. Also, we won't allow any existing mods to be retrofitted into Creation Club, it must all be original content. Most of the Creation Club content is created internally, some with external partners who have worked on our games, and some by external Creators. All the content is approved, curated, and taken through the full internal dev cycle; including localization, polishing, and testing. This also guarantees that all content works together.

We've looked at many ways to do "paid mods", and the problems outweigh the benefits. We've encountered many of those issues before. But, there's a constant demand from our fans to add more official high quality content to our games, and while we are able to create a lot of it, we think many in our community have the talent to work directly with us and create some amazing new things.