In a post on their official blog, Bethesda has outlined their short term plans for continued development on Skyrim. Apart from repeated assurances that they'll be patching out many of the game-breaking bugs in the coming months (including an incremental update next week), the post also provided a January launch window for the official set of modding tools, known as the Creation Kit.
That's not all, though. In a surprise move, Bethesda has partnered with Valve to integrate the Creation Kit with the Steam Workshop, allowing users to upload, browse, rate, and automatically install the best community modifications all from within Steam.
Currently, the only game to support the Workshop is Valve's own free-to-play shooter Team Fortress 2, letting the community to vote on items being considered for inclusion in the full game. The addition of Skyrim mods is a marked expansion of the Workshop's scope, as users will now be able to download and install modifications from official Steam servers.You'll even be able to flag mods for download from your smartphone and have them install the next time you log into steam.
Bethesda has a history of being accomodating to modders, but this is certainly something that goes above and beyond. They're removing the hassle of complicated installs and compatibility bugs that have plagued user-generated content in the past, and providing more than just consent. In a way, they're working to establish an official, institutionalized community that helps to improve and expand their product in ways that they'd be unable to do by themselves.
Of course, it remains to be seen how exactly things will progress in terms of implementation and content limitations. Bethesda's modding community has a history of pushing the boundaries of taste. Just look at the independent Skyrim Nexus, where the top 100 currently features such wonders as "Nude Females" and "Killable Children".
