Fallout 4 Wont Have Paid Mods Or microtransactions

Valve and Bethesda's joint partnership to bring a paid mod system to The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim was, arguably, a disaster. While the plan was intended to help pay modders for their hard work, it ultimately ended up failing to reward all participants while simultaneously infuriating players.

With Bethesda's Fallout 4 on the way, some gamers felt concern that the developer would take another shot at the Steam paid mod system with Fallout 4. However, a recent interview between Fallout 4 director Todd Howard and German publication Spiegel Online seems to suggest otherwise.

Spiegel Online asked several questions regarding Fallout 4, but broached the topic of whether the paid mod system that was temporarily enabled for The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim would be used with Fallout 4 as well. Todd Howard replied:

"How long was the payment system online? 24 hours? I can only speak for the present time, but currently there are no plans for a payment system."

Admittedly, the original interview was performed in German and has been translated into English via Google, but aside from awkward sentence structure, the meaning is fairly clear. The interviewer also went on to ask whether microtransactions would be used, akin to those in Assassin's Creed: Unity that upset so many gamers, to which Todd Howard simply replied, "No."

Fallout 4 Salesman No Paid Mods Microtransactions

Fans of Bethesda games will undoubtedly breathe a sigh of relief at this news, as it both confirms that Fallout 4 will neither have microtransactions nor employ a paid mod system, at least at launch. Considering Todd Howard was adamant that the mobile Fallout Shelter game would not use paywalls to force gamers to cough up cash in order to play or progress, it stands to reason that he would have the same philosophy for Fallout 4. Furthermore, Bethesda is undoubtedly keenly aware that their fanbase's mods are part of what extend the lifespan of their games on the PC (and soon, the Xbox One) for years beyond other games like Grand Theft Auto V that frown on mods and cheats.

Waiting for Fallout 4 is going to be hard for fans, but it's good to know that Bethesda keeps providing information that the game is going to be everything we want, rather than a repeat of past blunders.

Fallout 4 releases November 10, 2015 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Spiegel Online