CurseForge is once again under new management, with the long-time mod platform being incorporated into the Overwolf family of products following its sale by previous owner, Twitch.
For those who might not be familiar with CurseForge, it's one of the largest mod distribution platforms used by PC Gamers to augment games such as World of Warcraft and Minecraft with community-created add-ons.
According to a recent Medium article from Overwolf VP Gil Tov-Ly, the sale marks a significant shift in CurseForge's operations going forward, as well as how mod creators will benefit from their work.
Perhaps the most dramatic shift for current CurseForge users will be how mods are accessed and managed.
"CurseForge will transition out of the Twitch client and into a new dedicated desktop app on Overwolf," Tov-Ly writes. "A CurseForge team of engineers inside Overwolf will be in charge of continuously improving the Curseforge app to be the best mod manager out there. We’re getting all the code from Twitch, so we’ll start with everything as is, and then gradually add new features and tools like global search and smart sync, based on the needs and interests of the community."
Those who remember the old Curse Client might view the move back to a standalone client more favorably than how mods are accessed currently, which is essentially just a tab within the Twitch desktop app.
A mockup of what the new CurseForge app will look like
Tov-Ly also addresses how monetization will play a role within the new CurseForge ecosystem. Overwolf's goal is to allow mod creators to profit from their work, which for some could mean the difference between creating mods as a hobby and doing so as a career. The monetization of mods has long been a touchy subject, but Tov-Ly says that non-intrusive ads within the new CurseForge client is the way to go.
"We want to make modding a legit profession, and we want to find ways for modders to make a living. With 70–80% of ad revenue going to creators and distributed based on mod usage, we want to look into incorporating in-app ads in a way that is not intrusive."
"Eventually, as we’ve seen with gaming apps, we believe non-intrusive in-app ads will support mod authors and help them invest more time and effort in their creations. That said — you’ll never see an ad in-game, just in-app. You’re definitely not going to see any ads inside WoW addons or anything wonky like that."
While Tov-Ly makes a solid case for why Overwolf is the right home for CurseForge, not everyone is convinced. Detractors across various forums cite the company's shady private data practices as reason enough to be wary, though Overwolf has attempted to address these concerns, calling them "misconceptions".
This morning, Overwolf's co-founder Uri Marchand hosted an AMA on Reddit, which - whether satisfactory or not - seemed to address most user concerns.
