Sean van Zyl, known as Garuga123, has always loved dinosaurs. From the time he could pronounce the word brachiosaurus until now when he furnished his room with a stylish Jurassic Park pillow. They have always been a pillar of his life – so much so that he wanted to study to become a biologist or paleontologist when he was in school.
However, he never ended up pursuing these career paths because he found something else equally interesting – Zbrush. His high school Photoshop teacher allowed him to render 3D models instead of his usual assignments. It wasn't long before it became one of his favorite hobbies, eventually leading him to become the established fashionista it is today.
“Modding allows me to combine my love of dinosaurs and video games,” Garuga said. “I'm not working on these modifications full time, but that's the goal if I can make it happen.”
While modding is still a side thing, it is not a hobby for a large number of modders. It is a profession and primary source of income. In 2023, Roblox, Fortnite, and Overwolf combined paid out more than $1 billion to content creators. Overwolf — which includes our CurseForge platform that Garuga now uses to distribute and monetize most of his projects — has been paid over $201 million For creators in 2023.
Mods are not a small part of the emotion-driven gaming industry anymore, they are one of the main attractions and will continue to grow. Take ARK: Survival Ascend. This wild dinosaur survival adventure was released less than three months ago, and there are already over 1,000 mods in circulation and 60 million downloads.
Modders have always been a staple of the gaming industry. They continually support the communities they love by finding ways to improve the games they spend so much time in – providing an unrestricted life cycle for major game studios that keeps players coming back for more. It's an essential part of the game development process.
“When I started, I came to the conclusion that, especially in terms of quality-of-life features, I had a great vision of what people needed,” said longtime designer Arko Delhoff, who goes by his in-game name Tex. Able to quickly identify problem points as someone who has also been a beta tester for several years at a number of studios.
Dielhof makes his living by finding ways to improve the games that players love. He's built in-game maps that guide players to items and treasure in Diablo IV, Baldur's Gate 3, and other major games starting in 2023. He's actively looking for ways he can improve player experiences in small but significant ways.
Although adjusters were a staple, they were rarely compensated for their work. This is fine for modders who simply want to give back to the gaming community they love and support, but providing a path to celebrate and reward modders for their contributions to the industry is crucial.
“I don't have to worry about making ends meet using editing platforms like CurseForge,” Delhoff said. “At one point, I was making too much money as an individual, so I had to start my own company. Now I pay a lot of freelancers.”
The majority of modders do this type of work on a part-time basis, but many would make the jump if possible. This kind of leap is becoming more possible with every day that the gaming industry – and the modding scene – grows.
For example, Sean Philip van Zyl has been working full-time as an assistant professor of digital media at a university for the past five years, but his passion lies in creating experiences for gamers to enjoy. He's been growing his community, which currently has over 10,000 Discord members, and gets additional funding through Patreon. He was able to take fewer classes with the money he brought in from designing dinosaurs.
“The type of modifications I work on take months of work to get right,” he said. “There are some tweaks that can be made in a day, but there are others that can completely change the game experience. Those things – especially if they are moderated – are worth a high price.”
Modding communities have traditionally thrived thanks to the passion and free time of dedicated individuals. But now that the gaming industry is at a new inflection point for user-generated content, it's even more clear that gaming's strong growth will be largely driven by creator communities. It is time for the gaming industry to fully embrace this new era, realizing that it not only leads to better content for players but also fosters deeper engagement for game studios.
