If you play any games on Steam, you’re probably familiar with the Steam Workshop. For those of you that haven’t heard of it, it’s a hub where creators can upload mods and maps for some of their favorite games on Steam. Up until now, uploads to the Workshop have been instant. While uploaders had to follow rules, inappropriate uploads were flagged by users and taken down rather than go through a pre-approval process.
With the Steam Workshops’ latest update, that has changed — at least for some games, according to PCGamer. The games that now have to undergo a moderation process are Counter-Strike: Global Offense, DOTA 2, and Team Fortress 2. These titles are known for being targeted by scammers, spammers, and bots.
As was mentioned in the reddit thread where the change was originally noticed, games such as CS:GO are often the victims of scams in the form of Steam Workshop products. For example, they may offer free items for downloading their mod or map. The downloader is taken to a fake login page where their information is stolen. Hopefully, the new moderator approval system will help cut down on these tactics.
The reception to the change has so far seemed positive. Many users are applauding the Steam Workshop moderation decision. It will hopefully make it easier to be able to enjoy the content available for their favorite games. However, some modders have voiced discontent over the change. One commenter on a Kotaku article was worried that this Steam Workshop update would ruin the ability to quickly make and use mods among friends, even threatening to switch to another gaming platform. We can only hope that this update to the Steam Workshop will be helpful.
