SteamDB has a new owner after 13 years, but Nexus Mods says its current features will not be put behind a paywall, and display or programmatic advertising is not planned for now. Chosen, the parent company of Nexus Mods, has acquired the service, while founder Pavel “xPaw” Djundik remains involved during the handoff. The new owner is also being direct that keeping SteamDB running will require a sustainable source of revenue.
Djundik said in SteamDB’s announcement that he had been looking for someone to take over since January because maintaining the project had become too much for one person. SteamDB’s catalog, player base, and feature set kept growing, while an earlier attempt to find a team had not worked out. He wanted the service to continue rather than decline or shut down, but burnout ultimately made it necessary to step back from running SteamDB alone. The handoff is expected to unfold over the coming months, and Djundik will assist with the transition.
Djundik also pointed to changes after Covid and the rise of AI, saying the internet no longer felt like the one he had once enjoyed. Moving SteamDB to a larger organization gives him a way to reduce the workload while keeping the project active.
A larger team will now handle SteamDB’s development and infrastructure. The site will keep its current name and website, while the browser extension, Discord, and Steam group will continue as SteamDB community spaces. Its existing data and general-purpose tools will remain in place, including release tracking, player counts, patches, backend changes, update histories, price history, and sale prices. SteamDB and Nexus Mods will remain separate services, so browsing SteamDB will not require a Nexus Mods account.
SteamDB’s archived data could help with mod compatibility
Chosen is interested in SteamDB’s records of game builds, depots, manifests, and version history. Nexus Mods explained in its announcement that older manifests and game data can become harder to access after a game update, while SteamDB’s archive already preserves much of that history.
That archive could eventually help a mod manager identify the version of a game a user is running and determine whether an installed mod was built for it. The same version data could warn users when an incoming game update may cause compatibility problems. Collections and other mod lists could also identify the exact game version they support, rather than leaving users to search through descriptions, comments, or forum posts. No specific tool or release date has been announced, so these remain potential future uses rather than features available today.
SteamDB will still be a general-purpose service for player counts, price history, update information, and other Steam data. It is not being turned into a modding site, even if its archives could eventually make Nexus Mods’ tools more useful.
Free access comes with a new funding plan
Nexus Mods’ SteamDB partnership FAQ puts the situation plainly: “We’re going to be straight about this rather than dance around it: yes, SteamDB needs to make money.” The company says that income will support the team, infrastructure, and long-term investment needed to run the service instead of turning its current tools into a paid product.
Chosen says SteamDB will remain free, with no paywall added to features that are already available. It also says it will not sell users’ personal data, add new login barriers, or weaken the current service to force users toward a paid option. Nothing people currently use on SteamDB is supposed to be removed and sold back to them.
Nexus Mods says display and programmatic advertising are off the table for now. It may consider useful affiliate links and partnerships later, including publisher partnerships connected to purchases that begin with a SteamDB visit. Those options are still part of a future funding plan rather than a feature or monetization system currently available on the site.
Why SteamDB users are concerned
Early reaction has focused on whether SteamDB could eventually add subscriptions, restrict data, or require accounts for features that are currently open. Price history and player-count information are particular points of concern, with some users worried that either could someday sit behind a premium tier.
Independence is another concern. SteamDB has spent years publishing player counts, update histories, and other Steam data even when those numbers may be uncomfortable for publishers. Some users now question whether that approach will remain unchanged under the owner of a large commercial mod platform.
Chosen’s ownership of Nexus Mods is part of the reason those worries have followed the deal. Robin “Dark0ne” Scott stepped back from Nexus Mods in 2025, making Chosen the company’s owner and ultimate decision-maker. In its ownership statement, Chosen said mods would remain free, free accounts would not lose features, and it had no plans for aggressive monetization or paid mods. Nexus Mods already has premium memberships and some limits on free-user conveniences, however, so those commitments provide context rather than a specific promise about every future SteamDB feature.
Chosen has also acknowledged that taking ownership does not automatically transfer the trust Djundik built with SteamDB’s community. The stated aim is to provide the development time and infrastructure needed to keep the service stable, while Djundik helps guide the transition and the new team takes over its operation.
For now, the clearest commitments are that SteamDB will remain a separate service, its existing free features and data will stay available, display and programmatic ads are not planned, and Nexus Mods accounts will not be required. Existing users can continue browsing the site and using its current community spaces without an account change while the larger team takes over.
Share your thoughts in the comments, and follow us on X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
