BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

Game Modding Offers ‘Huge Financial Opportunities’ For Studios In 2022

Following

Mods and user-generated content (UGC) are so intrinsic to the evolution of the gaming market that studios overlooking their potential could be missing out on massive streams of income–revenue that could help keep their games relevant and popular, long after they’re released.

Such is the view of Scott Reismanis, who has spent two decades at the heart of the modding community through his creation of ModDB.com and mod.io. Following a blockbuster 2021, he is making bold predictions for the industry which, at the end of last year, was valued at roughly $198.4 billion–a whopping 36% above the $138 billion forecast by Statista in just 2018.

Reismanis and mod.io predict that by 2025, $1 in every $10 spent on video games will be on UGC–a 400% increase of estimated spending during 2021, meaning user content could be responsible for as much as $25 billion globally by 2025.

After launching ModDB.com to bring together key players and budding developers into a rapidly emerging PC game modding community in 2002, Reismanis went on to realize the potential for user-generated content as a service for studios and publishers with the creation of mod.io in 2017. In 2022, mod.io is live in over 100+ games across PC, console, and mobile, supporting over 220 million mod installs annually.

“UGC gives players both control and opportunity; by nature, [it’s] a version of play that is more dynamic and engaging than a game without creation capabilities,” he says. “When a feature like this thrives, particularly one that allows limitless potential from both its studio team and those who play, entirely new worlds and gameplay mechanisms start to emerge, opening the door for new ways for studios to engage with fans.”

2021 and the rise of UGC

According to Reismanis, 2021 was a watershed year for modding, with numerous headline moments to show the impact of its growth:

  • Roblox (RBLX) rose to a $38 billion market cap after debuting on the stock market in March 2021, making it the first UGC experience to do so, instantly becoming one of the largest public companies in gaming;
  • Totally Accurate Battle Simulator (TABS) became Steam’s top-rated game of 2021 (with an “overwhelming positive” 98% average review score)–the game powered by unit, faction, campaign, and battle creation tools available to modders, as well as a deep sandbox mode;
  • “Ultimate skateboarding game” Skater XL saw an explosion in modding, with downloads increasing by 1,000% due to the release of mods on console platforms, enjoying one million downloads within the first 24 hours of launch, and 100,000 creators on their Discord and other social platforms;
  • The brilliant Stardew Valley, which is over six years old and has shifted over 15 million copies, continued to grow and potentially futureproof its simple but compelling format by making mods more accessible for creators and players to build and integrate respectively;
  • Deep Rock Galactic gained over five million mod downloads since its official mod support launch in July 2021, in a move supporting creativity without impacting the progression mode the game offers; and
  • Forza Horizon 5 launched with Event Lab, which rewards players for good UGC with a Kudos system, and features its best creations in Festival Playlists.

What will the modding community bring in 2022?

Despite the modding community being surprisingly unpredictable, Reismanis has three key predictions for where the industry will go in the coming eight months and beyond, anticipating growth, development, and evolution of roles for modders and studios globally.

A shift from developers to creators

“There will likely be a shift of indie game developers becoming mod creators,” says Reismanis. “As studios unlock financial rewards, it will become more compelling to create within a game, rather than create a new game altogether, with the added opportunity to develop something exciting for a large pre-existing fan base rather than find a new audience.”

Indie developers, he says, will cascade towards mod-friendly games that give opportunities for people to produce valuable content in a way that works for both sides–something partially demonstrated by Roblox.

“The opportunity to be paid for what you make is no longer a far stretch of the imagination,” he adds. “Where this creator cascade will differ, though, is the accessibility of mods, ranging in size, shape and complexity; mods pose no limits to what can be created.”

Mushrooming micro-mods

The opportunity to create “micro mods”–simpler remixes of existing content–will allow more players to participate in content creation, Reismanis believes. Through this, gamers will become a bigger part of the gameplay experience, perhaps in an unwitting sense–shaping the scene in much the same way as TikTok users have done for the video platform.

He continues: “This can already be seen across games like TABS, where mods are allowing players to mix and match player-made units and create brand new battles, or adding a unit to an existing mix that allows for a whole new war to be fought.

“Small remixes of game elements can even allow players to go viral and share their experiences with other members of the community.”

Worlds within worlds

Finally, Reismanis predicts that as mods start to grow within games–and new mods are based on those that came before them–”mini-metaverses” will start to form.

“While building their games, studios will start to focus efforts on developing strengths within a genre, as opposed to building a sandbox that offers everything for everyone,” he concludes. “While sandboxes open up creativity, genre-defined games will provide cross-pollination between games, allowing mods to flourish, be creative, and offer potentially limitless ideas.”

Follow me on Twitter or LinkedInCheck out my website