Twitch has sold off the remaining component of its Curse acquisition from 2016, CurseForge, to Overwolf for an undisclosed amount.
CurseForge was, until the sale, a component of the Curse (later Twitch) app as well as a website dedicated to managing add-ons and mods for various games such as World of WarCraft, League of Legends, Minecraft, and others. With CurseForge now sold off from Twitch, Overwolf indicated in a post on Medium that they would be bringing it back into its own standalone application.
Overwolf also put out a FAQ regarding the transition which also outlined their plans for what they wanted to do with the new app. Some of the questions are understandably simple, such as whether Overwolf accounts will need to be created if they weren’t previously on Overwolf. Others are a little less simple. Of particular note is Overwolf’s position regarding advertisements in the app.
We want to make modding a legit profession, and we want to find ways for modders to make a living. With 70–80% of ad revenue going to creators and distributed based on mod usage, we want to look into incorporating in-app ads in a way that is not intrusive. You might remember the ads on the old Curse client, before the Twitch acquisition, so we’re thinking about iterating on that experience. But, in parallel — for those who do not wish to support creators, we’re thinking about ways of opting out. Clearly, subscription will be one of these options, but we’re also thinking about an opt-out without payment. Eventually, as we’ve seen with gaming apps, we believe non-intrusive in-app ads will support mod authors and help them invest more time and effort in their creations. That said — you’ll never see an ad in-game, just in-app. You’re definitely not going to see any ads inside WoW addons or anything wonky like that.
If Overwolf can strike a good balance between mod makers, players, and their own bottom line, the new app might well be the tool gamers are looking for.