Creation Club is a system of microtransactions designed by Bethesda Game Studios for its games Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition. The system was launched for Fallout 4 on August 29, 2017.[1]
Mods will continue to exist as they already do, but Creation Club offers content that is 'fully curated and compatible with the main game, official add-ons, and achievements.' Get Credits to be used in Creation Club – a collection of all-new game content for Fallout 4. Content is fully curated and compatible with the main game and official add-ons. Using Creation Club is easy – browse the selection in-game by category and use Credits to download the content. Credits can be purchased in packs of various sizes,.
Despite being described by critics as 'paid mods',[2][3] Bethesda has disputed this, as the content was made by independent creators using funding from Bethesda.[4] Journalists reported that Creation Club content was being automatically downloaded to players' hard drives, regardless of whether the players had purchased the content, which Bethesda said they were looking at how to fix.[5][6]
Reception
At launch, Creation Club was criticized for the content being too similar to free mods, and the requirement to purchase in-game credits with real-world currency.[4][7]
A number of modders supported the system, however, due to its 'improved quality control process' and the fact that existing mods cannot be stolen and sold by others.[3]
Legal Issues
The Creation Club is the instigating factor behind a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of Fallout 4 customers against Bethesda Softworks and ZeniMax Media in 2019 over questionable business practices involving the handling of DLC content for the game's Season Pass. The suit asserted that the Season Pass was supposed to contain the totality of Fallout 4 downloadable content (DLC) for a single price, but the introduction of the Creation Club in 2017 reneged on that promise as Season Pass holders would be forced to purchase the Creation Club content to gain access to any additional Bethesda-made content.
During the suit's litigation in court, ZeniMax and Microsoft had announced plans to acquire ZeniMax, which was anticipated to close by June 2021. The plaintiffs in the case sought a preliminary injunction to block the acquisition as to prevent Microsoft from shielding ZeniMax's assets should they be found liable in the case, which is expected to be heard in 2022.[8]
References
Is Creation Club Mods
- ^McWhertor, Michael (August 28, 2017). 'Fallout 4 Creation Club goes live, and yes there is horse armor'. Polygon.
- ^Allan, Darren (August 30, 2017). 'Bethesda starts charging for mods as Creation Club launches for Fallout 4'. TechRadar.
- ^ abWood, Austin (July 8, 2017). 'Top Fallout 4 and Skyrim modders weigh in on Bethesda's Creation Club'. PC Gamer. Retrieved September 1, 2017.
- ^ abLivingston, Christopher (August 31, 2017). 'I spent $15 on Fallout 4's Creation Club content, and here's what I got'. PC Gamer.
- ^Brown, Fraser (September 4, 2017). 'Bethesda's Creation Club archive is being downloaded automatically'. PC Gamer.
- ^Blake, Vikki (September 3, 2017). 'Bethesda's Creation Club is forcing players to auto-download unpurchased mod files'. PCGamesN.
- ^Jim Sterling (August 30, 2017). Bethesda's paid mods that aren't paid mods but are paid mods (The Jimquisition) (YouTube).
- ^Kerr, Chris (February 25, 2021). 'Ongoing Fallout 4 DLC lawsuit could impact Microsoft's takeover of Bethesda'. Gamasutra. Retrieved February 25, 2021.