Anyone who has participated in PC games is familiar with Nexus Mods.
This website is essential to the mod community, especially for expensive games such as Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077 and Skyrim.
Robin “Dark0ne” Scott started Nexus Mods in his bedroom in 2001 with a 56K modem. The game he prompted to start the site was Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, but he didn’t want to create a business from it. “I just wanted to create a place where modders could share their work without worrying about it disappearing onto the internet.” It’s safe to say that it’s a mission achieved in that respect for Scott.
But 24 years later, Scott resigns and changes his ownership of the website. He says the site is getting too stressed and he’s burned out and sees it affecting both the staff and the Nexus Mod.
The end of the era with Nexus Mods
In a blog post, Scott explains why he sells the site.
The tension of taking responsibility for the giant I created is at the cost. Work stress was a regular source of anxiety and stress-related health problems. I found myself burning out and this started to affect my staff and the whole Nexus MODS. So I firmly believe that the best thing for the future of Nexus Mods is to get me to stand aside, bring new leadership and move my business forward with new energy to make Nexus Mod a truly worthy of remodeling community for all of us.
One of the biggest reasons I’ve been doing this for so long is that I’ve never felt like I’ve really found someone who really “gets” the modding community in my own way. It was essential to find a new owner who could understand and respect the myriad complexities of both Nexus Mods as a business.
After months of meetings, face-to-face talk and lots of soul searches, I am excited to say I truly believe I have found the right people in this job.
So I changed my hands on the Nexus Mods, but I want to be clear. This is not a company’s “exit” or a contract at the back. This is me doing what I probably should have done years ago: take care of myself. Reclaim some headspace. And finally, I let go of the idea that I have to do everything and take responsibility for myself.
Scott added that although he may be the owner, today’s Nexus Mods consists of 40 “incredibly dedicated people.” He will not disappear completely from the spotlight. He may no longer be the owner of Nexus Mods, but he will still be on the forum and work with the team to help with the overall direction of the site.
As for the new owners, he doesn’t explicitly confirm who they are, but he says, “see more of the Fhefedinho (Victor) and Rapsak (Marinus) who were boarded to lead this next chapter.”
