Mods

I have some strong opinions on modding support, so please take everything I say here with an extra grain of salt.

Transparency

I believe that games/engines should have full transparency to a modding developer. If there is a tool/feature used by the game developer it should also be available to a mod author. Being able to extend or modify something you own is not just about using customizable options. It's about the right to do what ever you like with the object you bought.

Most software these days say you get a license, not ownership. While I completely understand the wish to add a limitation for customers to simply resell your software to others. I do not understand the desire to hinder a customer to modify your software when the customer does not make any money from doing so.

We all need to make money, this is not a discussion. But that does not mean we need to make it impossible to modify the sold product. Because software can be replicated by simply two mouse clicks of copy-and-pasting, reselling software is looked down upon.

Physical goods can not be simply copy and pasted in 5 seconds and unlimited resold. If you can buy one hammer you can resell one hammer. If you buy one DRM free software you could theoretically resell it unlimited times. But I strongly believe that in both cases the physical and digital good should be modifiable by the customer without the need to pay more for it.

Should Mods be Able to Make Money?

Probably yes, the question is not if they should be allowed to make money. The question is what form are they allowed to make it? Should they be allowed to get donations? Put mods behind paywall? Put early access behind a paywall, but the mod itself is free? Should the creator of the platform take a cut? If so how much?

These are questions I don't have good answers to. I know that most people expect mods to be free.