It seems pretty standard in terms of trajectory: hobby project blew up and became a thing people relied on, founder grew up over the years as well and can't sustain it. Company steps in to provide the "right resources", but inevitably doesn't emphasize too much the changes that will be needed to make it "sustainable".
> Running a service like SteamDB is not easy. I wouldn't be able to live with myself by either just letting the site run as-is and letting it wither, or completely shut it down. In January, I started looking for a worthy partner that could continue the legacy that I had built.
> This is where Nexus Mods comes in.
And Chosen's CEO:
> Our job isn't to change what makes SteamDB special. It's to give it the resources, team and long-term stability it deserves, while building a sustainable foundation that allows us to keep investing in and improving it for many years to come.
So the real news here is what "sustainable foundation" means.
Sivart13 3 hours ago [-]
> So the real news here is what "sustainable foundation" means.
I think that's answered pretty well by the 5 ads that open when I visit the announcement page on nexusmods.com link in the OP vs the speedy and clean UI that on the steamdb.info version (for now).
They claim no ads on steamdb, but they also claim "show what games have a thriving modding community" or something like that. Which implies linking to modding hubs, which implies linking to nexusmods, which I'd 100% deem as being ads.
Just because it's ads for another site within the corporate umbrella doesn't make it any less of an ad. I also expect that to be just the start of the enshittification. I fully expect them to remove features, then add "new" features that are basically the same as the old ones, but that time behind paywalls. So that they can claim that they technically aren't making free features paid.
doctorpangloss 3 hours ago [-]
i don't know. the whole operation was kind of obnoxious. valve could provide all this information for free in an afternoon, but chooses not to. of course, by information, i mean: historical, per-user purchasing histories, which are 1,000,000% the most valuable piece of data. but since the guy who ran steamdb doesn't make games, he didn't comprehend what it was that was valuable, and instead, focused on CSGO "leaks."
oybng 2 hours ago [-]
Well it's dead now. The demise of NM has been very public
"Why should the community trust Nexus Mods with SteamDB?"
You shouldn't have to take our word for it, so here are the commitments, in writing, that you can hold us to:
SteamDB stays free.
Nothing currently free goes behind a paywall.
We don't sell your personal data.
SteamDB keeps its own identity, site and community.
The extension stays free and keeps working.
PunchyHamster 2 hours ago [-]
none of that is legally enforceable so none of that matters, we had million stories of companies going back on their word, it isn't worth the rust it is written on
Love how the guy was running the site alone becaue he couldn’t “trust anyone else” and ended up selling to a company like this.
Though SteamDB is not irreplacebale at all, it’s running on the Steam Web API so not something super secret stuff.
2001zhaozhao 3 hours ago [-]
> Though SteamDB is not irreplacebale at all, it’s running on the Steam Web API so not something super secret stuff.
Is it possible to use Steam API to collect all the data that SteamDB collected over the years again?
Alternatively, maybe someone needs to to scrape SteamDB asap before they lock it down?
johen8 2 hours ago [-]
Damn, good for him, I guess, but what a bummer, I wonder how they'll enshittify the site. Also a reminder for everyone to disable or at least keep an eye out for updates on the extension. They say in the FAQ they won't change it, but i've been burned before by such promises
flaunf221 2 hours ago [-]
Nexus was sold to those new owners a bit over a year ago.
Nothing changed for the worse since that time. So don't expect any immediate changes.
bakugo 3 hours ago [-]
Okay, so go ahead and replace it. Even if we ignore the whole historical data aspect of SteamDB, you may find that accurately tracking and storing as much data as possible for hundreds of thousands of apps on Steam may not be as easy as it sounds, especially when you're doing it for free.
SteamDB is (was) one guy's passion project, that's the only way a site like this can work, and passion projects in tech are a thing of the past. There's no way to monetize it without making it borderline unusable. I am confident that, when SteamDB inevitably becomes a cesspit of intrusive ads and/or starts locking features behind a paywall (that no one will pay for, because paying a monthly subscription to see metadata for Steam games is insane, which will lead to more desperate measures and possibly an eventual shutdown of the site), no suitable replacement will be made.
doctorpangloss 2 hours ago [-]
The most valuable data is the per user purchase histories from before the time those were hidden by default.
jamesnorden 2 hours ago [-]
Why is that "valuable"?
tencentshill 4 hours ago [-]
The fundamental function of the site can now be vibecoded in a day, so now has no value. The daily visitors are the only unused item of value remaining.
Banditoz 3 hours ago [-]
I await your repo tomorrow, then! I'd be happy to use an alternative with all backfilled playercount data and sales history that hasn't been sold out.
amiga386 3 hours ago [-]
SteamDB is itself a massive collection of data - on pricing, game usage, etc. Scraped over years, in a way that Valve tolerate.
It could not be vibecoded in a day unless you want to hallucinate the data, which makes the site useless.
In fact, if the techbros actually tried, they'd force Valve into putting up anti-scraping countermeasures on all their APIs within hours.
whatevaa 1 hours ago [-]
Go ahead and do it just to prove a point.
bjord 4 hours ago [-]
that's optimistic
pathartl 3 hours ago [-]
The value is in the contributed art.
hurricanepootis 4 hours ago [-]
So, looks like SteamDB is gonna get a billion features behind paywall. Probably gonna rate limit how many depots you can look up for free within the hour lol
bjord 4 hours ago [-]
I think that's perfectly reasonable if it means a more sustainable future
brink 3 hours ago [-]
Is it for a sustainable future, or just extracting maximum value from the user?
bakugo 3 hours ago [-]
Are you speaking purely out of principle, or do you truly believe it makes sense in this particular case?
Personally, I just can't imagine anyone paying a monthly fee just to access metadata for Steam games and nothing else. At least with Nexus Mods, you're paying for (easier) access to actual content for your games.
Groxx 2 hours ago [-]
Probably speaking as someone who has used nexusmods in the past decade. Their monetization stuff is on the "lolwhat, that's kinda excessive" side of things.
giancarlostoro 4 hours ago [-]
Probably have ads because idk who would pay to lift those limits.
PunchyHamster 2 hours ago [-]
apparently it was sustainable just fine before
PunchyHamster 2 hours ago [-]
R.I.P. it was a good site and couldn't fall into much worse hands
gpiechnik2 3 hours ago [-]
[flagged]
amiga386 3 hours ago [-]
[flagged]
c-hendricks 2 hours ago [-]
Try quoting the full line, not just the part that scares you:
> Uploading content deemed illegal by English law (indecent depictions of minors)
seanw444 3 hours ago [-]
Do you know of any good alternatives to Nexus Mods? A peer-to-peer system would be really cool. Mod hosting over something like Reticulum, with mod manager integration, sounds like a dream.
keyringlight 1 hours ago [-]
And there's an example of one of the contradictions of modern PC gaming, for as much as it'll get hyped as a mostly open platform with a lot of freedom (in comparison to consoles), there's an awful lot that has coalesced on a small number of services over the years where an awful lot of value can vanish instantly if someone makes a decision you don't agree with or a service gets disrupted/closed.
long___cat 2 hours ago [-]
[dead]
Natfan 2 hours ago [-]
sounds a bit... snowflakey of you
forestingfisher 2 hours ago [-]
Just Web 2.0 and it’s consequences.
speedgoose 2 hours ago [-]
Allow the vocal snowflakes who can’t accept a video game featuring a tiny bit of non binary gender identity, and sooner than later you face the nazi bar problem[0].
It didn’t take long for x.com, previously known as twitter.
This ad hominem is unnecessary when we are talking about quality of life mods. Of course quality of life mods are going to address what people are complaining about. That's the whole point of them.
>the nazi bar problem
Nexus Mods doesn't ban mods adding the trans flag to the game. Does this mean they are going to have the trans bar problem? You can make this same argument about everything.
yreg 3 hours ago [-]
> Ah yes, Nexus Mods, where they'll ban you for making mods that change "Body Type A" and "Body Type B" back to "Male" and "Female", or remove mandatory pronoun selection.
Oh, no. If this is the most severe issue that the company has then we are fine.
yipinwong 3 hours ago [-]
It's an example of broader issue.
You don't get what @amiga386 was implying
solid_fuel 1 hours ago [-]
> It's an example of broader issue.
Be specific, use your big-person words like an adult. What specifically is the broader issue?
> You don't get what @amiga386 was implying
I think most of us get exactly what they're implying - they don't agree with the politics of the people running nexus (seems like they're scared of pronouns to me) - and don't really have anything concrete beyond that, so they're waving their hands and complaining about nexus abiding by the law.
rstat1 1 hours ago [-]
Sounds like they were getting overly upset by things that don't effect them and also...checks notes a website following the law of the country they're based in.
Really weird things to be getting upset over if you ask me.
Regardless of the stupidity of the law (which don't get me wrong, the Online "Safety" Act in the UK is incredibly dumb) you still have to follow it until its struck down or replaced.
yreg 2 hours ago [-]
Then why choose the most inconsequential example (IMO) I can imagine?
And what's the broader issue? That it's moderated?
itsdesmond 2 hours ago [-]
Y’all cowards always implying. Say the thing you think. Just say it. I’ll start: I think getting upset by a pronouns dropdown is literal homophobia, in that y’all are so scared, worried, and bothered by thinking about gay shit that you’re installing software about it.
It’s weak. Y’all are weak.
jamesnorden 2 hours ago [-]
God forbid you install a mod that modifies a game.
solid_fuel 8 minutes ago [-]
Good news! You're still allowed to install whatever mods you want.
Expecting Nexus to host mods they don't want to host is idiotic.
Hiding the whole complaint behind an implication is cowardice. But I expect nothing more from people who are scared of pronoun selection boxes.
Hope that helps.
bakugo 3 hours ago [-]
Knowing Nexus, I do expect some manner of censorship, though the exact form this censorship will take remains to be seen.
I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if they started taking payments from game publishers to hide historical player count data for certain games that aren't doing very well.
Philpax 2 hours ago [-]
[flagged]
Rendered at 21:27:11 GMT+0000 (UTC) with Wasmer Edge.
It seems pretty standard in terms of trajectory: hobby project blew up and became a thing people relied on, founder grew up over the years as well and can't sustain it. Company steps in to provide the "right resources", but inevitably doesn't emphasize too much the changes that will be needed to make it "sustainable".
> Running a service like SteamDB is not easy. I wouldn't be able to live with myself by either just letting the site run as-is and letting it wither, or completely shut it down. In January, I started looking for a worthy partner that could continue the legacy that I had built.
> This is where Nexus Mods comes in.
And Chosen's CEO:
> Our job isn't to change what makes SteamDB special. It's to give it the resources, team and long-term stability it deserves, while building a sustainable foundation that allows us to keep investing in and improving it for many years to come.
So the real news here is what "sustainable foundation" means.
I think that's answered pretty well by the 5 ads that open when I visit the announcement page on nexusmods.com link in the OP vs the speedy and clean UI that on the steamdb.info version (for now).
Someone posted that before I see (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49534491) so perhaps post can be merged to there
Just because it's ads for another site within the corporate umbrella doesn't make it any less of an ad. I also expect that to be just the start of the enshittification. I fully expect them to remove features, then add "new" features that are basically the same as the old ones, but that time behind paywalls. So that they can claim that they technically aren't making free features paid.
"Why should the community trust Nexus Mods with SteamDB?"
You shouldn't have to take our word for it, so here are the commitments, in writing, that you can hold us to:
>We acquire. We amplify. We conquer.
https://www.wearechosen.io/
lmao good luck.
Love how the guy was running the site alone becaue he couldn’t “trust anyone else” and ended up selling to a company like this.
Though SteamDB is not irreplacebale at all, it’s running on the Steam Web API so not something super secret stuff.
Is it possible to use Steam API to collect all the data that SteamDB collected over the years again?
Alternatively, maybe someone needs to to scrape SteamDB asap before they lock it down?
Nothing changed for the worse since that time. So don't expect any immediate changes.
SteamDB is (was) one guy's passion project, that's the only way a site like this can work, and passion projects in tech are a thing of the past. There's no way to monetize it without making it borderline unusable. I am confident that, when SteamDB inevitably becomes a cesspit of intrusive ads and/or starts locking features behind a paywall (that no one will pay for, because paying a monthly subscription to see metadata for Steam games is insane, which will lead to more desperate measures and possibly an eventual shutdown of the site), no suitable replacement will be made.
It could not be vibecoded in a day unless you want to hallucinate the data, which makes the site useless.
In fact, if the techbros actually tried, they'd force Valve into putting up anti-scraping countermeasures on all their APIs within hours.
Personally, I just can't imagine anyone paying a monthly fee just to access metadata for Steam games and nothing else. At least with Nexus Mods, you're paying for (easier) access to actual content for your games.
> Uploading content deemed illegal by English law (indecent depictions of minors)
It didn’t take long for x.com, previously known as twitter.
[0]: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Nazi_bar
This ad hominem is unnecessary when we are talking about quality of life mods. Of course quality of life mods are going to address what people are complaining about. That's the whole point of them.
>the nazi bar problem
Nexus Mods doesn't ban mods adding the trans flag to the game. Does this mean they are going to have the trans bar problem? You can make this same argument about everything.
Oh, no. If this is the most severe issue that the company has then we are fine.
You don't get what @amiga386 was implying
Be specific, use your big-person words like an adult. What specifically is the broader issue?
> You don't get what @amiga386 was implying
I think most of us get exactly what they're implying - they don't agree with the politics of the people running nexus (seems like they're scared of pronouns to me) - and don't really have anything concrete beyond that, so they're waving their hands and complaining about nexus abiding by the law.
Really weird things to be getting upset over if you ask me.
Regardless of the stupidity of the law (which don't get me wrong, the Online "Safety" Act in the UK is incredibly dumb) you still have to follow it until its struck down or replaced.
And what's the broader issue? That it's moderated?
It’s weak. Y’all are weak.
Expecting Nexus to host mods they don't want to host is idiotic.
Hiding the whole complaint behind an implication is cowardice. But I expect nothing more from people who are scared of pronoun selection boxes.
Hope that helps.
I genuinely wouldn't be surprised if they started taking payments from game publishers to hide historical player count data for certain games that aren't doing very well.