'It just wordks reação dos jogadores aos mods pagos na plataforma Bethesda Game studios Creations em The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Abstract

Modding, the practice in which fans create and modify game content, has been established since the 1990s as an essential part of video game culture. Companies have begun to incorporate these productions as engagement strategies, keeping their titles active and attracting new audiences. One of the most emblematic cases is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, known for its large community of modders. In 2023, the developer Bethesda launched Creations, a platform integrated into the game that allows the sale of mods through a royalty system, transforming them into microtransactions. This dissertation investigates how the sale of mods in Skyrim interferes with the relationship between fans and the company. It is hypothesized that the monetization of mods constitutes a market strategy that converts collaborative and voluntary practices into corporate profit, contradicting the values of the community. 390 user comments from Steam, published in the first month of the Creations launch, were analyzed using the thematic analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2006). The study also contextualizes the advancement of microtransactions in the industry, discusses the relationship between participatory culture and monetization, and interprets the community's reactions to Bethesda's new policy. The analysis identified four main themes: (1) impact on gameplay and experience; (2) rejection of paid mods and perception of exploitation; (3) challenges to Bethesda's leadership and its relationship with fans; and (4) resistance and collective memory. The results show that, although players maintain an emotional connection with the game, rejection of the monetization of mods predominates, confirming the hypothesis of this work.