Pete Ryan for BI
- Video game modding has been a way for aspiring developers to land professional industry jobs.The creator economy has made it possible for modders to monetize the hobby independently as well.This article is part of "Trends to Bet Your Career On," a series about trending professional opportunities.
Ironically, the more popular a video game is, the more effort fans invest in changing it.
The International Trade Administration valued the video game industry at $184 billion globally in 2023. As it continues to grow, user-created game modifications — more often called mods — are rising in popularity, too.
Mods are files or code inserted into a game to add new features, alter the graphics, or improve performance. Nexus Mods, one of the web's most popular mod-sharing platforms, told Business Insider that the website has added about 40 million users since 2020, and now hosts mods for nearly 4,000 different games.
While mods are traditionally released for free and created solely out of passion, many players use their modding projects and skills to get jobs in the video gaming industry. And with the rise of the creator economy — a $250 billion industry based around independent creators who deliver content directly to their audiences — a growing number of modders are turning their hobby from a career starting point into a lucrative stand-alone business as well.
Modding can build skills for game development jobs
Modding requires skills, like coding and project management, that can be vital for professional programming and game design jobs.
Liam Esler, managing director and cofounder of Summerfall Studios, started modding the simulation game "Creatures" when he was 10 years old, creating new biomes with unique plants and animals. By age 15, he was managing modding teams across the world.
Modding taught Esler how to code and let him practice skills, such as 3D modeling, art, and sound design. "It was a really incredible introduction to the world of making video games," he said.
Around this time, he also began modding the role-playing game "Baldur's Gate II," which later led him to apply for a volunteer quality assurance role helping to test the 2012 remaster of the original "Baldur's Gate" before release. He then turned this gig into a full-time developer job for the sequel, "Baldur's Gate II: Enhanced Edition."
Modding "Baldur's Gate II" helped Esler master the Infinity Engine scripting language, which the "Baldur's Gate" games were built with. It was a niche skill, but one that paid off. "I basically sent them an email saying, 'Look, I'm an expert in these things. I suspect you're going to need those skill sets.' And they sent me a contract two days later. I had the skills and all of that thanks to modding."
Several of his employees at Summerfall Studios are former modders as well. "A lot of them have seen 'behind the curtain' as gamers," he said. "I find, as someone who hires, it's such a critically underappreciated skillset."
For modders applying to game studios, he recommended building a varied portfolio of both mods and short games, and emphasizing to hiring managers "that you can learn new engines, you can learn new skills, and you can practice all the things you've learned in a different context. That's the thing that's going to get you hired."
Websites like Patreon let modders monetize their work
Some modders prefer to be their own boss, and monetization platforms like Patreon have given them ways to accept donations directly from players to support their craft. In return, modders can offer their patrons perks, including early access to new mods. Asking for donations instead of mandatory payments lets modders profit without violating most games' end-user license agreements, giving them the freedom to focus on the hobby they love.
Ilja Jusupov, the third biggest creator on Patreon, started out by modding the shooting game "S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl," adding texture packs and menus to configure other mods. He already had some programming experience, but modding is what turned it into a career.
A few years later, after he started making mods for the racing game "Assetto Corsa," he put his projects on Patreon, where he's since found success. Jusupov's Patreon brings in nearly $50,000 a month, which he attributes to the passionate fan base for "Assetto Corsa" and the consistency of his work.
Jusupov said the most challenging parts of running a successful Patreon as a modder are consistently preparing new updates to satisfy subscribers and responding to the feedback those subscribers give without sacrificing independence. "We wouldn't want to create an impression that we're not addressing our patrons' demands, but also still want to pursue new horizons and bring something new on a semi-regular basis," he said.
For other modders looking to find independent success, he recommended targeting "niche" games and taking on projects that you're passionate about. "A modification for 'GTA 5' would guarantee a large user base, but I imagine something smaller could have a lot more unsolved demands users would love to find a solution to."
Viktor "NSGolova" Radulov, a Ukrainian modder for the virtual reality rhythm game "Beat Saber," similarly said creators should "focus on helping players first and monetize later. If people are happy with your mods, they'll be happy to donate."
Radulov's Patreon projects, which include mods to add cosmetics and a leaderboard to the game, earn him over $4,500 a month. He began his programming career developing add-ons for Mac and iOS, and his interest in "Beat Saber" led him to take on modding as a hobby. While modding is currently a side hustle for him, he hopes to eventually turn modding into his sole career.
Other monetization platforms include Ko-fi and Nexus Mods. The latter lets modders earn "Donation Points" that can be redeemed for gifts or cash. Nexus Mods told BI that it has paid out over $12 million to its top creators since 2018. Some modders, like Dream and DougDoug, create content as well, using platforms like YouTube and Twitch to upload videos showcasing their mods, which can also earn them money.
"Modding forces you to learn a huge variety of skill sets, but the most important of these is 'just work it out,'" Esler said. "You don't have the virtue of an engineering team who can make new features or update existing ones, so you have to work out how to work within the confines of what's already there to make something new."
