In today’s slightly unexpected acquisition news, the world’s largest mod-sharing platform just bought SteamDB. Nexus Mods announced that it had acquired the Steam-focused independent database in a news post on its website, where it called SteamDB “one of the most trusted resources in PC gaming.”
SteamDB was launched in 2013 by two people who go by the names of Marlamin and xPaw as little more than a hobby, but as it grew in size it became more difficult to maintain. Nexus Mods said it started talking to xPaw when the programmer — who had eventually assumed sole responsibility of managing the site — started looking for someone who could give it “the resources, development capacity, and long-term stability” he was struggling to provide alone.
Nexus Mods says it shares a lot of the same values as SteamDB, both of which were primarily built to serve a large community of hardcore PC gamers. SteamDB logs player charts, price history, updates and other data for the entire Steam catalog, and the ability to better track which version of a particular game players are installing mods into was especially appealing to Nexus Mods. Updates are notorious game-breakers when mods are involved and SteamDB’s enormous amount of historical data should prove beneficial for ongoing development.
SteamDB will keep its current name and won’t change much in the short-term, so you can continue to use it as you do now. The main changes, Nexus Mods says, will be behind the scenes, as a dedicated team will eventually transition into managing the database, improving its “infrastructure, security, and scalability.” SteamDB has also traditionally relied on donated Steam keys for tracking game files, and while it will still lean heavily on its community going forward, Nexus Mods will also start funding keys itself.
In his own separate statement on SteamDB, xPaw reassured the community that it was in good hands with Nexus Mods, and said the aim was to invest in and help it survive rather than “change what makes the project special.” He also pointed to the rise of AI in a post-COVID world contributing to the end of “the internet we once loved”, and with it his own passion for continuing.
“I have full confidence the team will be able to continue improving the project for gamers, developers and publishers alike,” xPaw said in a statement. “I will be helping the team ensure a smooth transition in the coming months. This project has occupied my whole adult life. Thank you to everyone who has used SteamDB, contributed to it, reported bugs, shared it with others, or simply found it useful.”