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.
The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim modder Kukielle is quitting modding, having announced as much in mid-November 2024. This turn of events is a blow to the Skyrim modding community, as Kukielle is a popular creator whose add-ons amassed hundreds of thousands of downloads in recent years.
Kukielle specialized in creating mods that expand Skyrim‘s roster of followers. Since 2022, she has developed a handful of such add-ons, the most popular being Daegon and Kaeserius, her first-ever mod, which has been downloaded nearly 270,000 times from Nexus Mods as of November 2024.
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Kukielle elected to quit Skyrim mod development just ahead of the second anniversary of Daegon and Kaeserius‘ release. She announced her decision in a November 10 post on Nexus Mods, shared in response to one user asking for more changes to her Little Witch Taeka Elixi mod. Kukielle declined the request, saying she spent years refining her add-ons based on user feedback, even when it conflicted with her own vision. “I’m done,” she wrote, clarifying that she has no plans to update her existing mods or undertake any new projects.
Kukielle’s Skyrim Mods Prompted ‘Daily Harassment’
But the continuous pressure to deliver updates isn’t the only reason why the modder decided to call it quits. Speaking to GamesRadar+, Kukielle revealed that she has been experiencing “daily harassment just for being a girl” ever since she started making mods. She also expressed frustration that her technical achievements were overlooked by the community even after she spent “thousands of hours” on creating advanced companion mods unlike anything that exists in the Skyrim modding space.
Elaborating on the degradation that she has faced, Kukielle revealed that some users kept referring to her using disparaging labels implying she makes sexual content for Skyrim, which is something that she never did. While several of her mods, including Daegon and Kaeserius, are labeled as adult content on Nexus Mods, Kukielle says this is simply on account of the swearing they include, noting that none of them are overtly sexual. The former modder has now chosen to focus on music, with her first effort on this front resulting in SPIDERWEB PRINCESS, an album she released on November 9, which she says draws inspiration from all of her experiences.
Despite her ambitious Skyrim mods being used by hundreds of thousands, Kukielle’s Patreon page reveals that her efforts have garnered direct support from just a few hundred people, earning her just over $400 per month in donations as of November 2024. Her modest earnings and overall experience as a mod developer both highlight broader questions about the appreciation—or lack thereof—that the Skyrim community shows for its modders.
Sources: Kukielle / Nexus Mods, Kukielle / Patreon
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