[STEAM] SteamDB Officially Joins Nexus Mods, Promises to Remain Free and Reveals What’s Changing

[Steam 0]

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has officially joined

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, bringing one of PC gaming’s most trusted data resources under the same ownership as the modding platform. The announcement came today from Nexus Mods and SteamDB founder xPaw, who said the move will give the site the team, infrastructure, and long-term stability he could no longer continue to provide alone.

For now, SteamDB will remain SteamDB. The site, features, data, community, and free access are staying in place, while its new owners look at ways to connect its game version data with Nexus Mods and make modding less painful when games inevitably update.

Where SteamDB and Nexus Mods Go From Here

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Two important elements of PC gaming, now under the same umbrella. | Credits: NexusMods/SteamDB SteamDB founder xPaw explained in an official

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that the project had grown far beyond the hobby it started as in 2013. Running the site had effectively become a full-time responsibility, while its continued operation relied on donations. The move gives SteamDB a larger team and the resources to keep developing it without everything resting on one person.

Chosen, the company behind Nexus Mods, says the first changes will mostly happen behind the scenes. The plan includes more investment in infrastructure, security, and development, while xPaw remains involved during the transition (via

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). For anyone using SteamDB today, that means the site itself should continue working much as it always has.

There is also a longer-term reason this pairing could be useful. SteamDB has years of information covering Steam builds, depots, manifests, files, and version changes. Chosen says it wants to investigate how that data could work alongside Nexus Mods, including helping mod managers identify game versions and making it easier to deal with updates that break mods.

That does not mean those features are arriving immediately. Chosen has talked about them as things it wants to investigate, so there is a fair bit of room between the idea and something you can actually use. For now, the important part is that SteamDB gets the resources to keep doing what it already does, with the possibility of its Steam data becoming much more useful to the modding side later.

What SteamDB Users Need To Know

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The SteamDB homepage. | Credit: SteamDB If you use SteamDB regularly, there is not much you need to change right now. Chosen has published several specific assurances about the acquisition, although some of the longer-term plans will naturally depend on how the new ownership develops.

• SteamDB will remain free. Chosen says everything currently available for free will stay free.
• SteamDB will remain separate from Nexus Mods. You will not need a Nexus Mods account to use the site.
• The browser extension will stay. Chosen says it will continue to maintain and develop it.
• The SteamDB community spaces remain separate. Its Discord and Steam group are not being turned into Nexus Mods communities.
• SteamDB is not becoming a modding site. The existing service will continue covering things such as player counts, pricing history, and Steam updates.
• More Steam data may eventually help modding. Chosen wants to investigate better links between SteamDB’s version information and tools such as mod managers and Collections.
• There are no plans for display or programmatic ads. Chosen says it may look at affiliate links or partnerships, but not traditional advertising on SteamDB
• An API may eventually arrive. Chosen says it is looking into building better relationships and tools for developers and publishers, potentially including an API.

And yes, the skepticism has already started pouring in. Some users are worried that SteamDB’s independence could eventually suffer under new ownership, while others are questioning whether a company connected to game publishers could one day have reasons to make uncomfortable player-count information less visible.

The culmination of

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’s search to find someone he could trust was…. Nexus mods. Lmfao I love starting my day with a good laugh, its scientifically proven to accelerate the chances of having a good day, thank you

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— Aleks (@countaco)

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No doubt the player counts will be either:
a) doctored in favour of agenda pushing
b) removed ala

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dislike button
c) locked behind a paywall
d) all of the above in some shape or form

— Patrik Deraković-Rakas VA (@DRPatrikVA)

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Massive congrats to

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Hope that payout was massive, steamDB is amazing and I hope nexus is able to run and develop it in the same direction.

— miko (@mikotre)

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Those are, of course, nothing more than concerns and “doomposting” that the internet is more than familiar with, and Chosen has explicitly promised that SteamDB will remain free and retain its identity. So, for now, the only honest answer is to let time take its course and see what happens next.

Do you think Chosen is the right home for SteamDB, or would you have preferred it to remain independent? What would you most like to see come from the two services working together? Let us know in the comments below!

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