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.
858 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.
Each Nexus account creator EXPLICITLY agrees to Terms of Service conditions. Those conditions EXPLICITLY state what you can and cannot publish on this PRIVATE business' website.
What the Terms of Service DO NOT apply to:
- How YOU choose to think.
- How YOU choose to interpret the world.
- What content HOSTED OUTSIDE OF NEXUSMODS.COM YOU PRIVATELY choose to implement in YOUR games on YOUR own PRIVATE electronic device(s).
That is the end of it.
There is nothing further to litigate within the purview of the relationship between the site, site content, and site account owners. Stop deliberately obfuscating. Stop moving the goalposts because you get a definitive, unequivocal answer you do not agree with. Stop the whataboutisms. Stop the bad faith arguments, the logical fallacies.
In the context of this very basic, boilerplate relationship between you, the Nexus account creator, and Nexus, a PRIVATE business, when it comes to mods:
- What political stance you think the website leans towards is IRRELEVANT.
- What you think is right or wrong is IRRELEVANT.
- What you think is fair or unfair is IRRELEVANT.
You want to know why?
Start reading from the top.
the fact that nexus mods is free for anyone to use and upload to is a blessing. this site is a privilege for everyone who uses it, it didn't have to be here, they could have stopped supporting it long ago but they didn't. people need to stop acting so entitled and accept that this website is for everyone to enjoy and for the owners to manage how they see fit
, to the end.
It's been two days now - I'm not sure what's the point of keeping this post unlocked anymore, especially since the majority of conversations pivoted to "talks" (complains) about "censorship" and "unfair moderation" (also considering it has been locked two, three times already) I think, maybe, it would be wise to adress it directly and open a proper discussion on this matter once and for all, in another post dedicated to this topic? Would make it easier for moderators to keep track of actual feedback on the new ownership on this post :)
One thing is clear, a lot of people feel strong about the topic of "censorship" and tolerance (or lack thereof) while simultaneously not understanding it (and doing nothing to understand it either). They are entitled to their own opinions, bias and emotions, but a lot of people fail to grasp that their opinions, our opinions, doesn't matter at all; we all signed up on Nexus, meaning we all should be aware of the TOS and rules - they're the one who decided to ignore the clearly stated "warning signs" when signing up.
If, tomorrow, Nexus decides to do a 180°, update their TOS and ban LGBTQ+ content while keeping bigoted and nazi mods, we wouldn't be able to do anything about it; I'm sure a lot of the people currently screaming about equality and censorship would scream Victory and flip their fingers at "the other side" (because why would they tolerate the people they keep removing from their games, right?)
Now as a general reminder: People's lives, sexuality and skin colors are not political.
Getting sick and tired of seeing this word being thrown around - "keep politics out of games" - as if the games we love aren't filled with ACTUAL political stories. Call it what it really is; Minorities. You don't want minorities in your games. You want the freedom of erasing us, modding us out, the freedom of shoving your mod and opinion into everyone's face on a big platform and you don't want to get hit with the concequences of doing so. THIS is what this whole mess is really all about.
"It's just a mod, you don't have to download it and you can hide it, what's the issue?"
The issue is that minorities, Black people, Gay people, are still being murdered and killed to this day, in 2025. We are still being killed, tortured and hate-crimed DAILY for just being ourselves. Seeing people being so proud of themselves for erasing us in games, publishing their mods for everyone to see, waiting to be pated on the back and coddled in their opinions is upseting, it is hurtful. To block something, we still have to see it, see how much download the mod has, see how many people agree with your opinion, with your hatred. Seeing 'straight white men' saying they feel equally "victimized" by mods including a pride flag or changing the skintone of a white character to a darker tone, as if they were persecuted all their lives for being 'white straight men' is making me SICK.
This whole comment section should be used as a reason as to WHY Nexus needs to STAY the way it is. We need inclusivity more than ever, especially in today's political climate, and it's truly sad and infuriating that so many people fail to realize that.
Agreed. It is indeed a tough one.
NM must work within the framework of the Law.
T&C's explain everything, so don't expect them to bat for every side because they can't.
IMO: If your Mod won't get them in legal trouble, it should be allowed.
Getting sick and tired of seeing this word being thrown around - "keep politics out of games" - as if the games we love aren't filled with ACTUAL political stories. Call it what it really is; Minorities. You don't want minorities in your games. You want the freedom of erasing us, modding us out, the freedom of shoving your mod and opinion into everyone's face on a big platform and you don't want to get hit with the concequences of doing so. THIS is what this whole mess is really all about."
Yep. This. 100% THIS
Just FYI for everyone, some comments are being removed, which is fine, but if you see holes that's why. Anyways I think I'll go silent now.
Remember, Nexus is thriving so much because of the modders here, not because of the Nexus itself, and hopefully you'll have at least a basic "same" respect for modders in the future.
Dark0ne has claimed ownership of the mods on Nexus, so no one can delete their mods if they want to
Some of the things said are contradicting each other.
I ask @Foledinho to explain what is meant by this (without people trying to hijack my post and have it deleted gain) ?
Thanks in advance
-=DD=-
Almost like their proclamation of wanting to do right by the modders, means nothing.
Hopefully this is true and the priority are the modders, has my personal mind I do not mind the changes they make as long as everything remains free.
I would like to see a change in the new reward system that right now penalizes excessively to all authors who create mods that interact with the same group of users, just today came out the new UPDATE of PALWORLD and all the mods were broken, due to this new rewards algorithm I will only update 4 or 5 mods per month so that the reductions are minimal, it makes no sense to update mods and invest time in recreate and reuploading them for a game that I don't even play or use and that the recognition by Nexus will be to reduce my rewards (in new or old mods) if I already interact with these usurians even in other games.
This new approach are already many authors who do it and this seems to be creating a breeding ground in certain games to comment on why we have taken this decision, users want free mods and that are updated quickly (if you do not fill the message tray repeated requests 100 times to update), I also believe that Nexus is losing a large part of their income by not taking advantage of these UPDATE that generate a new wave of visits if the mods are updated to their latest version.
It would also be good to recover the old transparency and not hide what kind of rewards are given and how they are calculated so that they are fair to all modders, I do not think it is enough to say "If you aren't comfortable with us controlling how we distribute the money this site earns, if you have "trust" issues with us, then I don't recommend using Nexus Mods."
GREETINGS AND BEST OF LUCK TO THE NEW OWNERS.
Muh "private business" only goes so far if they got f*#@-you money, but if you squander the good will, that eventually dries up. I'd take it more seriously if those that tout it actually has consistency, but as it stands, if Nexus were to do a 180, they'd be the first to complain.
I think they might actively pursue this buy, as Nexus is huge and could give them great opportunities to generate cash.
Oh... ick!
All of this are just ideas written down, what will actually manifest, time will tell
We’ve chosen a different path: listen first, learn fast, support the team quietly. If we’re worthy of trust, it’ll be because of actions, not press releases.
If you ever want to talk one-on-one, my DM is always open. I'm genuinely interested in how we can make Nexus a better place for everyone.
Because it sounds like, to me, that you are planning to make massive changes without even so much as a by-your-leave to the community, and everyone has to either accept the changes forced down our throats or delete our account and mods from the Nexus.
If you are truly sincere in your promises to “help” the community instead of just helping yourselves to as much money as you can possibly extract from this community, then a proposed road map of future changes that we get to vote on or have some input in would be a great place to start. An even better place to start would be to sign a legally binding contract enshrining the veracity of all of those lofty and so-easily broken promises you made in your sticky post. You know, if you truly want to start gaining trust and prove you have no bad intentions.
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.
We’ve been focused on supporting the team first, not spinning a story. Could’ve communicated better. That’s on us.
Still, no big promises. Just doing the work, day by day. Time will tell.
https://i.imgur.com/tl7Sgbk.png
This is typically because some is typed out on a keyboard, and the other is pasted from AI.
AI like ChatGPT will use Unicode over ASCII, so when you copy and paste text from it, it preserves Unicode. To force this change manually you'd have to press Alt+0146 (on numeric keypad), or swap from Windows to Mac mid-post, then back again. Which do you think is more likely?
But they're totally genuine, ezy-breezy dudes.
And then the 2nd pin, with the reliance of "Muh Private Business" from a 3rd party.
Then with Chosen they are known for focusing on monetization so feel like even though they said they are not making major changes they will eventually do it then people will go to other mod sites is my feeling. I hope nexus don't become something where mods get put behind a paywall eventually or becomes unbearable for free users.
Then I hope nexus goes from being woke back to being neutral where if people trying to cause issues it get dealt with instead of stuff being fine for one side and not the other.
Also you should know, there are a loud minority of users that have appeared in the last few years that i hope you learn to ignore. Nexus used to be a neutral space but the increase in censorship has caused issues to players who simply want to customize their games. That was always the point of mods. Change ANYTHING in a game. Supporting that will help your business model. If you decide to go PG this site dies.
Not saying it will happen, but it's a just-in-case thing.
Good luck new team with managing NexusMods! We will definitely absolutely put you through your paces.
Haven't you read ToS? They own your stuff forever.
And if the 2nd stickied post is any indication, it's a private business, they can do whatever they want.