A year after a significant ownership change, Nexus Mods is reflecting on its progress and setting an ambitious course for the future. Victor Folmann, CEO of Danish firm Chosen and the site's current owner, has shared his reflections on the first 12 months at the helm. He aims to transform the popular modding platform into a comprehensive system for user-generated content in gaming.
Folmann acknowledged the substantial work undertaken by the Nexus Mods team over the past year. Efforts have focused on improving the modding experience, including redesigning the mod upload form, enhancing the detection of child sexual abuse material and viruses, and organizing modathon events. The staff has also seen significant growth, expanding from around 42 individuals to 75, with plans for further expansion to support these initiatives.
Central to Folmann's vision is a re-evaluation of how mods are conceptualized. "For going on 25 years now, this platform has been modeling mods as files," Folmann stated. "Mods are not files. Mods are systems. With dependencies, with conflicts, with load orders, with versioning, with environments, all that complexity." He believes that the inherent difficulties players face with modding can be attributed to this file-centric approach.
Nexus Mods is now aiming to shift towards a model where the platform actively manages the complexities of modding. The goal is to handle "dependency resolution, setup validation, and change deployment" to reduce the burden on users. This philosophy aligns with features like GOG's one-click mods and Nexus Mods' recent push for collections, which are curated mod lists for specific games.
The long-term aspiration, as articulated by Folmann, is for Nexus Mods to become an "operating system for user-generated content in gaming." This vision positions the site not just as a repository for mods, but as a foundational platform enabling the entire ecosystem of player-created content. While acknowledging that this goal is still some way off, the first year has focused on laying this essential groundwork. The initial year under new leadership has proceeded without significant controversy, fostering an atmosphere of cautious optimism among the community as Nexus Mods moves toward realizing Folmann's expansive plans.