Nexus Mods wants to make modding "Spotify-easy," with a "browse, click, and play" system

Lauren spends most of her time dead in League of Legends, or equally as dead in Valorant. Don't ask her about Vampire: The Masquerade.

It's no secret that modding is a core part of the PC gaming ecosystem. It is also, however, one of the most complex things to really dig into for those who aren't as computer-savvy as more hardcore players. In his first public letter on Nexus Mods, however, new owner and Chosen CEO Victor 'Foledinho' Folmann promises to make modding easier than ever before, both for consumers, and for creators.

"The long-term vision… is for Nexus Mods to become the layer of the infrastructure that makes everything else possible," he writes. "Not only your home for mods, but a platform that enables modding on the whole ecosystem. An operating system for user-generated content in gaming." In slightly clearer terms, Folmann wants Nexus Mods to be the one-stop shop for modding; a platform that does it all at the click of a button.

Nexus Mods should make it "Spotify-easy for players to play a mod; browse, click, play. And it should be GitHub-powerful for mod authors to create, publish, manage, and collaborate. We still have a way to go," he acknowledges, "but the path to getting there goes right through the issues you've been highlighting for a long time."

Primarily, Nexus Mods wants to tackle modeling "mods as a file" versus as "systems." It hopes to be, to borrow Folmann's words, "a platform that knows modding as systems. Where the difficult parts are done for you; where a mod is a repeatable experience that works reliably for everyone who installs it; where a shared link brings you a working modded game without any need for three hours of digging on Reddit or through comments on mod pages." Folmann notes that this will be hard to do, but that Nexus is "committed to providing this experience."

In response to some criticism in the comments, Folmann simply asks that players "judge us by what we deliver over the next year. That's all I ask."

Modding has often felt impenetrable, especially for older games, or ones that are a little more complex. It has, however, produced some of the best content that the PC gaming sphere has ever seen - look at the likes of Fallout London, or the Warcraft-inspired Tristfal Glades expansion for Baldur's Gate 3. I think about that one at least once a week.

For someone like me, who gets a little dizzy over folders filled with files, the idea of a 'one-click and you're done' solution sounds amazing. It removes the barrier to entry, allows creators to get mods into players' hands easier, and, in turn, hopefully make themselves some cash. It's a win-win for everyone, especially in a world where videogame ownership can be revoked at the click of a button. Mods keep gaming alive, there's no doubt about it, and I'm excited to see how Nexus Mods continues to evolve.