SteamDB, the community-run database tracking Steam game data, pricing, and player counts, has changed hands. Its founder, xPaw, has sold the site to Chosen, the company that owns Nexus Mods, the largest video game modding platform. The deal was announced in matching statements posted on both SteamDB and Nexus Mods.
xPaw explained that after 13 years running SteamDB largely alone, the workload had become unsustainable. In a statement, xPaw said that what began as a hobby project grew into something requiring full-time hours, and that "after COVID and with the rise of AI, the internet we once loved is gone, and with it my passion." xPaw said they had experienced burnout but powered through, and had tried a few years ago to find someone to continue the project but couldn't find a team they were confident in, so they kept going solo. Ultimately, xPaw decided the increasing mental load meant they could not, in good conscience, continue.
Nexus Mods CEO Victor Folmann, who took over the modding platform's parent company Chosen in June 2025, said SteamDB's back-catalogue of game manifests, depots, and update history is valuable for modding purposes. Folmann noted that mods are often built for specific game versions, so an update can break previously working mods, and that connecting SteamDB's tracking data with modding tools could make modding more reliable. He also said Nexus Mods had already begun collecting Steam game data itself but found that once updates are pushed, older version data becomes hard to access — something SteamDB already does well thanks to its extensive back-catalogue.
Both companies emphasized that SteamDB will keep its own name, brand, community, and identity rather than being folded into Nexus Mods, and that in the short term users shouldn't notice much change. xPaw will continue working with Nexus Mods over the coming months to ensure a smooth transition. Folmann said the site would move from being run essentially as a one-man operation to having a properly funded team, better infrastructure, security, and scalability, and that the site would also begin funding Steam keys itself rather than relying solely on donated keys, though community contributions will still matter.
On the question of monetization, Nexus Mods acknowledged directly that SteamDB now needs to make money, but said there are no plans for display or programmatic advertising. Instead, the company said it may explore affiliate links and partnerships, such as with publishers when a game is purchased after a SteamDB visit, describing these as slower to set up but a preferable approach. The site will remain free to use, and Nexus Mods stated that nothing users currently have access to is being taken away or sold back to them.
Folmann also did not rule out deeper integration between the two platforms over time, such as helping SteamDB visitors discover a game's modding community or using SteamDB's version data to make installing and maintaining mods easier. xPaw said they have full confidence the new team will be able to continue improving the project for gamers, developers, and publishers alike.