Creation Club is a system of microtransactions designed by

Bethesda Game Studios Bethesda Game Studios is an American video game developer and a studio of ZeniMax Media based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was established in 2001 as the spin-off of Bethesda Softworks' development unit, with Bethesda Softworks itself re ...

for its games ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for PlayStation 4, ...

'' and '' The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – Special Edition''. The system was launched for ''Fallout 4'' on August 29, 2017. Despite being described by critics as "paid mods", Bethesda has disputed this, as the content was made by independent creators using funding from Bethesda. Journalists reported that Creation Club content was being automatically downloaded to players' hard drives, regardless of whether the players had purchased the content, which Bethesda said they were looking at how to fix. All available Creation Club content for ''Skyrim'' was bundled with the ''Anniversary Edition'', released on November 11, 2021 to coincide with the game's ten year anniversary.

Reception

At launch, Creation Club was criticized for the content being too similar to free mods, and the requirement to purchase in-game credits with real-world currency. A number of modders supported the system, however, due to its "improved quality control process" and the fact that existing mods cannot be stolen and sold by others.

Legal Issues

The Creation Club is the instigating factor behind a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of ''Fallout 4'' customers against Bethesda Softworks and

ZeniMax Media ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland, and founded in 1999. The company owns publisher Bethesda Softworks with its development unit Bethesda Game Studios (developer of ''The Elder Scrolls,'' ...

in 2019 over questionable business practices involving the handling of DLC content for the game's Season Pass. The suit asserted that the Season Pass was supposed to contain the totality of ''Fallout 4'' downloadable content (DLC) for a single price, but the introduction of the Creation Club in 2017 reneged on that promise as Season Pass holders would be forced to purchase the Creation Club content to gain access to any additional Bethesda-made content. During the suit's litigation in court, ZeniMax and

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...

had announced plans to acquire ZeniMax, which was anticipated to close by June 2021. In a Memorandum opinion from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, the Court granted Bethesda Softworks' motion to compel arbitration based on the Terms of Service contract that was signed by the plaintiff, Jacob Devine, in October 2022.

References

{{The Elder Scrolls Micropayment Fallout (series) The Elder Scrolls