Popular Skyrim Modder Is Quitting

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Key Takeaways

  • Skyrim modder Kukielle is quitting the modding scene.
  • She cited the pressure to deliver updates she disagreed with, along with the “daily harassment” she endured, as key reasons behind her decision.
  • Kukielle’s Skyrim add-ons were downloaded hundreds of thousands of times from Nexus Mods since 2022.

As a long-time fan of Skyrim and a frequent visitor to the Nexus Mods community, I was saddened to hear about Kukielle’s decision to quit modding. Her contributions to the game, particularly her follower mods like Daegon and Kaeserius, have been a source of joy for many players, myself included.

The modifier known as Kukielle for the game “The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim” has announced his departure from modding. This news, shared in mid-November 2024, is a significant loss for the “Skyrim” modding community since Kukielle is a well-respected figure whose mods were downloaded by hundreds of thousands of players over the past few years.

Kukielle is known for designing mods that increase the number of companions in Skyrim. Since 2022, she’s created several such expansions, with her debut work, Daegon and Kaeserius, being the most sought-after. As of November 2024, this first mod has been downloaded approximately 270,000 times from Nexus Mods.

Kukielle chose to step down from creating mods for the game Skyrim, right before the second anniversary of Daegon and Kaeserius’ release. She made this announcement in a post on Nexus Mods on November 10th, following a user’s query about further changes to her Little Witch Taeka Elixi mod. Kukielle turned down the request, explaining that she had spent years perfecting her add-ons based on user feedback, sometimes going against her own creative vision. In her post, she expressed that she was done with mod development and had no intentions of updating her current projects or starting new ones.

Kukielle’s Skyrim Mods Prompted ‘Daily Harassment’

Apart from the constant need for updates, another significant factor that led the modder to stop working was the relentless harassment she faced daily due to her gender. In an interview with GamesRadar+, Kukielle shared this unfortunate experience. Additionally, she felt disheartened because her technical accomplishments in creating sophisticated companion mods for Skyrim were often overlooked by the community, despite investing countless hours into their development.

Discussing the disrespect she’s endured, Kukielle shared that certain users persistently labeled her as someone who creates explicit content for Skyrim, a claim she never supported. Despite some of her mods, like Daegon and Kaeserius, being categorized as adult content on Nexus Mods, Kukielle clarifies this is due to the strong language they contain, asserting that none of them are sexually explicit. Having shifted focus, the former modder is now delving into music, with her debut project being the album SPIDERWEB PRINCESS, released on November 9, which she describes as drawing inspiration from all her life experiences.

As a dedicated fan, I’ve been captivated by Kukielle’s incredible Skyrim mods, which have been utilized by hundreds of thousands. Yet, delving into her Patreon page in November 2024, it was humbling to learn that her direct support comes from only a few hundred people, amounting to approximately $400 per month in donations. This revelation, coupled with her limited earnings as a mod developer, serves to underscore the broader debate about the recognition and appreciation—or perhaps the absence of it—that the Skyrim community extends towards its dedicated modders.

Sources: Kukielle / Nexus Mods, Kukielle / Patreon

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2024-11-17 19:53