alt Hacker NewsModding has always worked like that. Mods have always been unpayed work for the benefit of the game community, which ultimately also works to the benefit of the game publisher.
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Forgeties79 • today at 5:31 PM
Yes but it’s typically a subset of players making/using them and not the cornerstone of the entire product. They also dangle the promise of making money in front of people, but when you dig into the specifics it’s actually very hard to get paid. You have to cross a certain threshold to even eligible for a payout even if you have accrued a little cash.
The relationship of kids making stuff (the vast majority with little to no compensation) for a private, for-profit company is incredibly direct. That’s why it leaves a sour taste for many of us.
In the past, Valve has hired some of their most longest-tenured employees from modding, although not necessarily on GoldSrc - Counter-Strike and QuakeWorld Team Fortress come to mind. (But of course never Richochet.) The Narbacular Drop team came straight out of DigiPen with a noncommercial thesis project as well.