Chosen, the firm that bought Nexus Mods in 2025, has acquired SteamDB, the long-running independent Steam tracker. The deal was announced on September 2, 2026. Terms were not disclosed.

Pavel "xPaw" Djundik built SteamDB in 2013 with co-founder Marlamin. After Marlamin left, xPaw ran it almost alone for a decade. What started as a hobby became a full-time job funded by donations. "The ever increasing self inflicted workload has taken its toll," he wrote. He pointed to burnout, Steam's constant growth, and a changed internet after COVID and the rise of AI scrapers. "The internet we once loved is gone, and with it my passion." He began looking for a buyer in January rather than let the site decay.

What Chosen and Nexus Promise

Chosen and Nexus say SteamDB will keep its name, brand, URL, and community. Existing features stay free. No Nexus account is required. They pledge no display ads on current pages and talk instead of partnerships and affiliate links. xPaw will help with the handoff. They also want SteamDB's historical builds and manifests to improve mod compatibility tools.

That is the press line. The concern is who now owns the data.

Nexus Mods Has a Record of Content Control

Nexus Mods is not a neutral host. For years it has removed mods that clash with its "inclusivity and diversity" policy. Pride-flag replacements, pronoun-option removers, and U.S. political skins have been taken down. Authors have been banned for content staff called antagonistic or trolling. The site throttles free download speeds and now requires ID or face checks in some regions for adult files. Those choices are its right as a private platform. They are also a record of content control.

Why This Sale Looks Like a Loss

SteamDB mattered because it published raw player counts, prices, and depot data without a political filter. On X, users called the sale a sellout. Some said Nexus is "incredibly woke" and will eventually bury or spin numbers that do not fit a preferred story. Others simply do not trust a company that polices mods to leave an independent database alone forever.

xPaw needed out. That part is understandable. Handing a trusted public resource to a company with a documented taste for moderation still looks like a loss. Promises of independence are cheap on day one. Once one owner controls both the largest mod archive and the main Steam data source, the pressure to tidy inconvenient facts only grows.