I asked Studio Wildcard about these types of complications, and how they planned to resolve issues if or when they arise. This mod had to be removed from the paid mod program as a result. And, one of the immediate issues with Valve's failed system was that a modder started selling a mod that used animations from another mod without permission. One recent example: two Ark modders clashed over Pokémon mods they were each developing, leading to one modder filing a DMCA notice against the other. While this type of sharing is what makes modding communities great, it sometimes leads to conflicts, infighting, and accusations of theft between modders. They also borrow models, skins, textures, code, and ideas from one another, and many mods rely on other mods not just for inspiration but to actually function. These teams often collaborate online, sometimes completing a project without ever meeting in person. Modders often work in teams, large or small, official or casual, to develop their mods. Naturally, there's the potential for complications with this type of paid sponsorship. 'Once we get this kind of process going, we're almost certainly going to work out a community-driven aspect to is it as well,' said Stieglitz, 'where the community maybe even ultimately can vote, along with some discretion, maybe, on Cedric's part on who goes into that voting pool.' This could change down the line as a community feedback element may be added, which would have some influence on which mods become or remain sponsored. Cedric Burkes of Studio Wildcard, whose own mod, Primitive Plus, was adopted into Ark as official DLC, will be deciding which mods make it into the new sponsored program, and determining each month if the mods will remain sponsored or be dropped and replaced by others.

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