An Update From Dark0ne
I started this project back in 2001, in my bedroom, with a 56k modem, an excitement for the upcoming release of Morrowind and with no grand ambitions or intentions. I didn’t set out to build a business, I just wanted to make a place where modders could share their work without worrying it would vanish into the internet either the next time a fansite went offline or a publisher decided they were done with it. That idea grew legs, sprouted arms, and turned into Nexus Mods.
Since then, this site has been my entire adult life. Every single day, for over two decades, I’ve been "on call", whether it was fixing issues, reading feedback, pushing updates, or getting pulled into the latest bit of community drama. It’s been rewarding, sometimes chaotic, often exhausting and always personal. Somewhere along the way, I forgot to step back and breathe, or sleep properly. The dilemma of running a major social network that does not rest!
The strain of being responsible for the behemoth I created has taken its toll. The stress of the job has been a regular source of anxiety and stress-related health issues. I realised that I have been burning out and this started to have an impact on my staff and Nexus Mods as a whole. So, I firmly believe that the best thing for the future of Nexus Mods is for me to step aside and bring in new leadership to steer the business forward with renewed energy to make Nexus Mods the modding community we all truly deserve.
One of the biggest reasons I've been doing this for so long is that I've never felt that I truly found someone who really "gets" the modding community the way I do. Finding a new owner who would be able to understand and respect the myriad intricacies of both Nexus Mods as a business and the wider modding community was essential.
After months of meetings, face-to-face talks, and a whole lot of soul searching, I am thrilled to say that I truly believe I have found the exact right people for the task.
So yes, the ownership of Nexus Mods has changed hands, but I want to be clear, this isn’t some corporate “exit” or a backroom deal. This is me doing something I probably should’ve done years ago: taking care of myself. Reclaiming some headspace. And finally letting go of the idea that I have to do everything and be responsible for everything myself.
What changes now?
Honestly, not a lot, at least not from your side of things.
Behind the scenes, I’ve already been stepping back bit by bit. Over the past few years, the team has taken on more of the weight and the site’s been doing better than ever. What’s changing now is simply the formality of it, making sure the right people are in place to guide Nexus Mods into the next era.
That includes some structural updates to the company ownership that we aren’t shouting about, but I want to be transparent: they’re about long-term stability, not changing the values or direction of the platform. Nexus Mods is community-first and mod-author focused, that’s not up for negotiation.
While I am stepping back, it's important to understand that Nexus Mods isn't just about me and hasn't been for a long time. The Nexus Mods you see today has been created by a team of 40 incredibly dedicated people, some of whom have been here for over 9 years. They live and breathe modding, they care deeply, they’re experienced, committed, and they're very much still here. None of that is changing.
So if I can ask one thing, it’s to continue supporting them, the site, and the community they help nurture every day.
In terms of new faces, you’ll also be seeing more of Foledinho (Victor), Rapsak (Marinus) and Taagen (Nikolai), who’ve come on board to lead this next chapter. They’ve got deep roots in gaming, tech, and most importantly, they give a damn; about the site, the community, and the future we’re trying to build here.
Editor's Note: We've added Nikolai to the new owners listed above. He works more in the background, but is still an important part of the team!
They have my complete trust, and I’m incredibly proud to be bringing them onboard.
What about me?
I’m not disappearing. I’ll still be annoying people on the Mod Author Discord, lurking on the forums, and sticking my nose into community matters when I can’t help myself. I’ll also be working with the team to help guide the overall direction of the site, just without needing to be the person who signs off on every little thing and without taking responsibility for any and all things Nexus Mods.
Frankly, that’s a good thing, for me, for the team, and for the future of Nexus Mods.
777 comments
Thanks for the warm welcome! We’re as excited about Nexus Mods’ future as you are. This post was all about Robin, giving him the credit he truly deserves. He built something incredible, creating a culture that’s shaped gaming and modding as we know it. We're here to honor that legacy and carry it forward, but we need to earn your trust.
Now, let’s clear the air on a few things:
Trust takes time.
We're committed to putting control back in the hands of creators, players, and communities. We’ll get back to building now.
Marinus, Nikolai and Victor.
On the side of freedom - I'm all in to ban mods that are illegal, like sexualizing kids, pornography, symbols of hate (like swastikas, etc), copyright, malware as there are more dark places for such mods. But swapping in-game models, object, flags (looks like a big topic this one) is nothing more than personal dislike to an individual. Nexus should give freedom to such authors to upload those mods and whoever want to download and install them to do so and who doesn't to just not.
We don't need things like this https://x.com/TastyEmpire21/status/1699507488964465145 which is unprofessional.
Never forget our friends who have left us through the years.
Representd by Discovery - acknowledged by Sam the Son:
Wake up Hero!
Your time has come.
Our enemies are standing by our doors
waiting for the command from their leader blinded by her power.
They who were believed to be allies aren't.
'Hen is easily followed without their 'qen vivion' .
They believe blindly and willl attack blindly as well -
to avoid the miscredit from the seer of 'Hen's will.
We are not totally abandonded.
Discovery is with us.
He left his domain for a new dimension and was able to reveal 'Hen's plans.
The orsimer visionary Orc gro Balash have settled in at your Wayrest Cottage.
She has removed the bindings and opened the cave for you to see - and enter - if that is your will.
Shewolf has followed you. You were never alone.
Read your mind through the realms of Oblivion and thus were able to read.
A child's mind is 'Hen's largest threat.
!::! Fred
Dark0ne thanks for making this site.
🟥 🟧 🟨 🟩 🟦 🟪
There is no "censorship" happening on Nexus Mods.
The moment you create an account on their platform, you agree to their rules and TOS, which includes their File Submission guidelines:
TL:DR - "Don't publish bigoted mods on our platform or we'll have to remove it."
Don't agree with these rules? NexusMods might not be for you then.
*Chefs Kiss*
Look at Twitch, a dying platform, because all they do is alienate their userbase.
I think what you might not fathom is that... the people who wanna be bigots ARE the minority of users on Nexus. And Nexus has NO reason to cater to them, because the folks that are NOT bigots are who would leave if they start allowing it... and they outnumber the bigots 5 to 1 conservatively.
Also (again) this site is operating under the EU now... and they have pretty strict laws that would get Nexus taken down if they started hosting those kinds of mods. So no... they do NOT need to do that. That would be bad LOL
If they have not relocated their place of business to Denmark, then this statement is incorrect. The United Kingdom is no longer a member of the EU. If the company is still based in England, English law applies.
Put in that what you want.
Company is based in Denmark.
Denmark is part of the EU.
Therefore: Nexus us now under the purview of the EU now.
Yea, it's been two days, my dude.
(Although, to be fair, this is likely you self-soothing with this thought, so I shouldn't be ornery to you about it. Mea Culpa )
Rockin.
Im feelin pretty good with that outcome too LOL
(Sorry to ruin your gotcha, though :P )
It's perfectly fine if it stays in the UK. Worked so far.
It's perfectly fine if it stays in the UK. Worked so far."
... ^^^ That with Ice cream on top!
How quickly you turn toward the wind. Impressive.
Oh dear... how to make you understand that just so long as bigoted, hateful mods are still unwelcome here, Im happy as a sung little bug in a rug?
That's an absolute *WIN* for everyone who wants to be able to mod without having alt-right Not-See stuff bogging up their feeds.
"Oh! That protection is not happening in the exact way you said it might!"
LOL, and? Anything else, peanut?
Have a beautiful rest of your day! <3
Yeah, seems a one sided argument. I can list several mods that offend each and every one of these.
Seems it only works for the benefit of one group.
Also, everyone here is a bigot as they try to conform others to their views and dislike other views political or religious. If you need help with that definition look it up.
Seems it only works for the benefit of one group."
Care to elaborate on that?
What a banger argument. I wonder if my table will last that long **head <> table**
If I am being totally honest I really don't understand what this means. Why would you all telling us about who is now taking on the site be something you have to earn?
I'm more than happy to be proven wrong, time will tell. I think those of us who have been online for ~20 - 30 years have seen how this typically goes.
Congrats though @Robin, you definitely earned it.
The outcome here isn’t unique to the internet and acquisitions like this rarely end well for the community. The pattern has long been established, and we all know how this typically goes and know we can’t stop it.
Not sure how things were structured under Robin, but it’s a safe bet that this won’t be better with a corporation at the helm. We can probably expect a slew of rash, top-down decisions with little-to-no regard for what the community actually thinks, all for the sake of chasing ever-increasing numbers: Edge to edge advertisements. Paywalls. Premium price increases. "Updated" ToS that invalidates the lifetime premium those of us already possess. That's all SOP straight from the corpo playbook; UX be damned.
Trust was already pretty shaky, and a lot of us have been burned by quick, poorly thought-out changes before. The first transparency test? Yeah, that was a bust. That said, Chosen still has a chance to turn things around. I'm no analyst and obviously I have no clue about the behind-the-scenes metrics, but if they put real effort into stuff like improving the site’s infrastructure and
responsiveness or adding requested features, they might win some goodwill, if nothing else. Worst case, they buy more time for someone to get a head start on a Nexus competitor.
We'll see, one way or another.
If it was just stated that the site was being sold and handed over to a new organization it would be different, but the newsletter seems misleading compared what is actually happening. The phrasing is dodgy and distracting and the information on the logistics of the ownership change is all but null. Like they don't actually want to tell you about it.
Not trying to sound overtly rude or pessimistic, it just doesn't add up in a way that seems very reassuring. Obviously nothing has happened yet so there's no reason to make a fuss about it.