Commissions for Game Modders: Pricing a Defined Deliverable

Price a game-mod commission as one defined private deliverable: one asset, one scope, one turnaround, and a checkout authorization before work starts. Keep it separate from selling a public mod, where storefront rules, review queues, hosted-project rewards, and game-IP license limits may control monetization. Custom Work lets you offer clearly scoped commissions and services: you set the price, the scope and the delivery time, and followers submit a brief and pay before you start.

Publisher disclosure: this page is written by Brillay. Brillay's platform fee and Stripe's separate card-processing fee are both explained on Brillay's public pricing page. No monthly fee, you only pay a small platform fee when you get paid. 8% platform fee when a follower pays for work, 5% platform fee on tips and goals. Card processing is separate.

You do not have to ask your whole audience for money: turn requests you already receive into a priced commission, such as "make my server a custom boss," "turn my OC into a weapon skin," or "build a small arena map for our group." A commission works best when the deliverable is small enough to define before checkout: a texture-pack variant, a single map room, a script tweak, a low-poly vehicle, a voice-line pack, or a config-ready plugin. Brillay puts Custom Work and your other offers on one creator link, where followers submit a commission request and pay by card as guests. This guide focuses on pricing bespoke mod assets without turning every DM into negotiation.

What counts as a mod commission?

A mod commission is a bespoke asset or small implementation made for one requester, not a public paid listing of the mod itself. The useful dividing line is whether you are being paid to create a defined custom deliverable for a named follower, server owner, GM, or community member.

Common commission-sized deliverables include custom skins, armor recolors, texture-pack variants, FoundryVTT macros or modules, Minecraft datapack tweaks, custom maps, plugin setup scripts, weapon models, vehicle models, avatar props, and voice-line packs. A request becomes risky to price when it sounds like "make a whole overhaul," "build me a modpack," or "keep updating this forever." Those may be real projects, but they are not clean one-off services.

Use three filters before accepting: can you describe the final file or link in one sentence, can you name what input you need from the requester, and can you finish without relying on future revisions? Brillay's Custom Work feature page describes defined services where followers can attach files and creators deliver text plus files and/or a link. If the requester wants a different version after delivery, treat it as a new paid order rather than unlimited extra work.

How should modders define the deliverable?

Define the commission by asset type, format, compatibility target, and what is explicitly not included. Modding clients often know the fantasy but not the implementation, so your listing has to translate "custom thing" into buildable specs before the follower checks out.

The "not included" column is not negative; it is the part that prevents scope creep. If you will not install the mod, troubleshoot load-order conflicts, publish it publicly, localize it, or update it after a game patch, say so in the offer description. A follower should be able to decide before checkout whether they are buying a texture, a script, a map file, or a model export — not a vague promise that you will "make the mod work."

What pricing anchors can modders use?

Pricing anchors should come from the labor you can actually estimate: build time, testing time, complexity, and rights risk. Do not copy a random rate card; use a visible calculation so the follower understands why a simple recolor, a working plugin, and a redistributable model are not the same product.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports median annual wages of $135,980 for software developers and $102,030 for special effects artists and animators; those occupational figures are not modding rates, but they show why code-heavy and 3D/art-heavy commissions should not be priced like quick tips (BLS software developers, BLS special effects artists and animators). Dividing those annual medians by 2,080 work hours gives rough labor anchors near $65/hour for software work and $49/hour for animation or 3D art work, before platform fees, taxes, unpaid admin time, or any extra revision labor.

The table below is illustrative, not a claim about what modders earn or what every follower will pay.

These examples become real quotes only after you adjust for your skill, queue, delivery time, game-specific complexity, and permission constraints; you do not need a large audience when one server owner, GM, or community member wants a specific asset. A private-server asset with no redistribution rights is simpler to price than an asset the buyer wants to include in a public modpack.

How do marketplace rules change pricing?

Marketplace rules change pricing because a public paid mod listing is governed by the host's monetization system, while a private commission is a bespoke service for one requester. A commission should not be described as buying access to a public mod unless the game's license, mod host, and storefront all allow that transaction.

Nexus Mods' donation guidelines state that the site "explicitly prohibits the direct monetization of mods" while supporting donations to creators through permitted methods (Nexus Mods, Donation Options & Guidelines). That policy is about charging users for mods on or through Nexus Mods, not every freelance art or code commission, but it shows why a modder should avoid advertising a private commission as a paywall for a Nexus-hosted file.

"At Nexus Mods, our mission is to "Make Modding Easy" and we strongly believe that paid modding is in direct conflict with that goal." — Nexus Mods, Donation Options & Guidelines

Steam's Subscriber Agreement says some Workshop-enabled apps let users create User Generated Content and submit it as a Workshop Contribution to Steam Workshop pages (Steam Subscriber Agreement). For Counter-Strike 2, Valve publishes separate Workshop Supplemental Terms covering revenue sharing for accepted contributions (Steam Workshop Supplemental Terms).

"These Supplemental Workshop Terms supplement the terms set out in the Steam Subscriber Agreement. They address how revenue will be shared for any Contributions accepted by Valve for distribution." — Steam Workshop Supplemental Terms for Counter-Strike 2

This page is not legal advice. Brillay lets creators offer defined services; third-party game IP, studio assets, trademarks, SDKs, music, character art, and proprietary code remain governed by their respective licenses. If a game's EULA, mod SDK, studio content-use policy, or asset license says you cannot sell, redistribute, reverse engineer, or commercially use something, do not accept a commission that depends on violating that rule.

How do commission prices avoid scope creep?

Commission prices avoid scope creep when the price attaches to one finished deliverable rather than to your general availability. The follower should know exactly what they get, what they must send, and when the private delivery will arrive.

Use this quote structure:

Illustrative quote = labor hours × your working rate + complexity + compatibility burden + usage expectations + rush factor.

The labor hours are the core build: painting the texture, scripting the mechanic, laying out the map, modeling the prop, recording the lines. Complexity covers variants, animation, optimization, testing, and integration. Compatibility burden covers specific game versions, mod loaders, VTT systems, server APIs, or dependency chains. Usage expectations cover whether the follower wants the asset just for a private table/server or wants permission to redistribute it in their own public modpack. Rush factor applies when a requester wants the work before your normal queue.

Publish the final offer like a scope, not a mood: "One custom 32x item texture for [game/version], PNG delivery, no model edit, 72-hour delivery time." Avoid vague menu items like "custom mod — $50" unless the follower can tell exactly what $50 buys. For the general case of listing paid commissions without a storefront of your own, see how to take commissions without a website; keep mod commissions tighter than a typical consulting service.

A vague request is where scope disputes start, so write down what a requester needs to send before you accept payment — how to write a commission brief form covers the fields that work for a defined asset request.

What should followers submit before checkout?

Followers should submit enough information for you to decide whether the commission is possible without hours of unpaid planning in DMs. A good intake form asks for references, target game or system, required file format, compatibility version, deadline, and any restrictions.

For Custom Work, the follower's request should include the information that changes the build: screenshots, references, server rules, character art, item names, sample audio, or a mod list. The offer description should also tell the follower what is out of scope: installation, hosting, publishing, future patches, redistribution rights, load-order troubleshooting, or support for versions you did not test.

A clean intake checklist:

• Game, tool, or VTT system: exact title, edition, version, loader, or ruleset.
• Asset type: texture, model, script, map, plugin, module, line pack.
• Reference files: screenshots, concept art, specs, existing config, sample audio.
• Output format: PNG, ZIP, JSON, JS, Lua, JAR, GLB, FBX, WAV, OGG, module link.
• Use case: private server, home campaign, video prop, public modpack, stream overlay.
• Constraints: lore limits, rating limits, platform restrictions, forbidden dependencies.

Decline anything that requires rights you do not have, assets you cannot use, platform behavior you cannot promise, or ongoing maintenance you do not want to sell. A clear intake form protects both sides: the follower sees whether their request fits the offer, and you avoid doing unpaid pre-production just to discover the request depends on an asset or platform rule you cannot touch.

How does private file delivery work?

Private file delivery works best for commissions when you deliver the finished asset once as a private note, file, or link. In Brillay Custom Work, followers pay upfront before you start. You deliver the agreed commission later. You can decline a request. Card disputes can still happen. If a card dispute comes up, the delivery note records what you sent and when; delivered files remain available through Brillay for 90 days.

That is different from selling the same download repeatedly through a public storefront. You are not building a shop listing, waiting in a marketplace review queue, or inviting strangers to buy the same file repeatedly. You are accepting or declining a bespoke service request, doing the work if accepted, and delivering it privately.

Stripe lists 2.9% plus 30¢ as its typical U.S. online card rate for domestic card payments, with additional fees for some international cards and currency conversion (Stripe pricing).

A practical delivery note might read: "Delivered: one ZIP containing the custom sci-fi rifle model in GLB and FBX, two texture maps, and a README with import notes for [tool/version]. This does not include rigging, animation, redistribution rights, or future patch compatibility." That note closes the loop and makes the delivered scope visible.

When should modders use marketplaces instead?

Use a marketplace when you want public discovery, repeated downloads, platform-native installation, community ratings, or the platform's own monetization program. Use Custom Work when one requester wants one custom asset and you do not want to convert it into a public paid mod listing; there is no follower minimum and nothing to apply for.

CurseForge says its Reward Program allocates Author Reward Points from a monthly pool based on a percentage of revenues from the previous month, and points are calculated from eligible project activity rather than from a creator's private commission quote (CurseForge Reward Program FAQ). Modrinth states that website and app advertising revenue is split 75% to creators and 25% to Modrinth in its Rewards Program information (Modrinth Rewards Program Information). Those are platform monetization models for hosted projects, not pricing systems for bespoke work.

If you are still deciding which link-in-bio setup fits your workflow, the comparison hub and creator-type pages can help separate storefronts, memberships, marketplaces, and paid interaction links.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell paid mods through Brillay?

Brillay is for defined custom commissions rather than public paid mod listings. If you want to sell or distribute a mod publicly, check the game's EULA, the mod host's rules, and the storefront's own paid-mod policy first.

Does the follower pay before I start work?

For Custom Work, followers pay upfront and you deliver the completed commission later.

Can followers send reference files for mod commissions?

Yes. With Custom Work, followers can attach files to the request, and you can deliver text plus files and/or a link.

What if the follower wants revisions after delivery?

Brillay Custom Work has one-time delivery in the current product. If a follower wants a different version, extra format, additional compatibility target, or post-patch update, define that as a new paid commission.

Should I promise marketplace approval or compatibility?

No. Promise only what you control: the asset, format, compatibility target you tested, and delivery time. Do not promise approval by Steam Workshop, Nexus Mods, CurseForge, Modrinth, Bethesda Creations, a game studio, or a server owner unless you actually control that review process.

Create your free Brillay page with no follower minimum, put Custom Work and your other offers behind one link, and receive payouts in any of Brillay's 41 supported payout countries.