Nexus Mods, Major PC Game Modding Site, Gets Mysterious New Owners

If you’ve ever modded a PC game, then you might’ve visited Nexus Mods, the major site for game modifications. The site’s longtime owner is now stepping down, raising questions about what might change.

“After almost 24 years of running Nexus Mods, the time has come for me to step back from the day-to-day management of the site,”  the site’s owner Robin “Dark0ne” Scott announced on Monday. 

Nexus Mods initially started as a fan site for the game, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. But it soon found a huge audience for game modifications, evolving into Nexus Mods by 2007. The site has since grown to team of 40 people while attracting 63 million registered users and logging a total of 16.8 billion downloads. But it looks like running the site has become a major burden for Scott.

“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,” he wrote. “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.”

(Nexus Mods)

Running the site has taken its toll, causing Scott to suffer from severe burnout. “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,” he wrote. 

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The leadership shakeup is naturally sparking questions about the future of Nexus Mods, including fears that the site will try and charge users. But according to Scott, the new owners share his same passion for game modding. “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,” he added. 

The only problem is that Scott didn’t fully name the new owners of Nexus Mods. Instead, he only mentioned their first names, Victor and Marinus, along with their screen names  “Foledinho” and “Rapsak.”

Still, Scott says the new leadership team has pledged to prioritize “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,” Scott wrote. He also doesn’t expect any major changes to occur over the site.

Although the announcement was vague on the new owners, some users have uncovered evidence that Scott was referring to Victor Folmann and Marinus Elgaard, who appear to have started a tech company called Chosen. The site for Chosen notes: “We partner with founders to help scale what they’ve built amplifying their impact, supporting their team and culture, and ensuring the business thrives for the long term.”

In the meantime, Scott’s announcement noted he still plans on having a presence at Nexus Mods, including lurking on the forums. “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,” he added.

About Michael Kan

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I’ve been working as a journalist for over 15 years—I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017.

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