D035: Creator Recognition & Attribution
Decision: The Workshop supports voluntary creator recognition through tipping/sponsorship links and reputation badges. Monetization is never mandatory — all Workshop resources are freely downloadable. Creators can optionally accept tips and link sponsorship profiles.
Rationale:
- The C&C modding community has a 30-year culture of free modding. Mandatory paid content would generate massive resistance and fragment multiplayer (can’t join a game if you don’t own a required paid map — ArmA DLC demonstrated this problem).
- Valve’s Steam Workshop paid mods experiment (Skyrim, 2015) was reversed within days due to community backlash. The 75/25 revenue split (Valve/creator) was seen as exploitative.
- Nexus Mods’ Donation Points system is well-received as a voluntary model — creators earn money without gating access.
- CS:GO/CS2’s creator economy ($57M+ paid to creators by 2015) works because it’s cosmetic-only items curated by Valve — a fundamentally different model than gating gameplay content.
- ArmA’s commissioned mod ecosystem exists in a legal/ethical gray zone with no official framework — creators deserve better.
- Backend infrastructure (relay servers, Workshop servers, tracking servers) has real hosting costs. Sustainability requires some revenue model.
Key Design Elements:
Creator Tipping
- Tip jar on resource pages: Every Workshop resource page has an optional “Support this creator” button. Clicking shows the creator’s configured payment links.
- Payment links, not payment processing. IC does not process payments directly. Creators link their own payment platforms:
# In mod.toml or creator profile
[creator]
name = "Alice"
[[creator.tip_links]]
platform = "ko-fi"
url = "https://ko-fi.com/alice"
[[creator.tip_links]]
platform = "github-sponsors"
url = "https://github.com/sponsors/alice"
[[creator.tip_links]]
platform = "patreon"
url = "https://patreon.com/alice"
[[creator.tip_links]]
platform = "paypal"
url = "https://paypal.me/alice"
- No IC platform fee on tips. Tips go directly to creators via their chosen platform. IC takes zero cut.
- Aggregate tip link on creator profile: Creator’s profile page shows a single “Support Alice” button linking to their preferred platform.
Infrastructure Sustainability
The Workshop and backend servers have hosting costs. Sustainability options (not mutually exclusive):
| Model | Description | Precedent |
|---|---|---|
| Community donations | Open Collective / GitHub Sponsors for the project itself | Godot, Blender, Bevy |
| Premium hosting tier | Optional paid tier: priority matchmaking queue, larger replay archive, custom clan pages | Discord Nitro, private game servers |
| Sponsored featured slots | Creators or communities pay to feature resources in the Workshop’s “Featured” section | App Store featured placements |
| White-label licensing | Tournament organizers or game communities license the engine+infrastructure for their own branded deployments | Many open-source projects |
No mandatory paywalls. The free tier is fully functional — all gameplay features, all maps, all mods, all multiplayer. Premium tiers offer convenience and visibility, never exclusive gameplay content.
No loot boxes, no skin gambling, no speculative economy. CS:GO’s skin economy generated massive revenue but also attracted gambling sites, scams, and regulatory scrutiny. IC’s creator recognition model is direct and transparent.
Future Expansion Path
The Workshop schema supports monetization metadata from day one, but launches with tips-only:
# Deferred schema extension (not implemented at launch; `M11+`, separate monetization policy decision)
mod:
pricing:
model: "free" # free | tip | paid (paid = deferred optional `M11+`)
tip_links: [...] # voluntary compensation
# price: "2.99" # deferred optional `M11+`: premium content pricing
# revenue_split: "70/30" # deferred optional `M11+`: creator/platform split
If the community evolves toward wanting paid content (e.g., professional-quality campaign packs), the schema is ready. But this is a community decision, not a launch feature.
Alternatives considered:
- Mandatory marketplace (Skyrim paid mods disaster — community backlash guaranteed)
- Revenue share on all downloads (creates perverse incentives, fragments multiplayer)
- No monetization at all (unsustainable for infrastructure; undervalues creators)
- EA premium content pathway (licensing conflicts with open-source, gives EA control the community should own)
Phase: Phase 6a (integrated with Workshop infrastructure), with creator profile schema defined in Phase 3.