This is the second time Bethesda has done this.

Kinda true in two ways.

1. There was initial paid mod attempt that they walked back due to player outcry, not because the paid mods themselves caused any problems. Which doesn’t really work as an example of “paid mods are almost never a good thing for the game itself”.

2. The Creation Club has been around for years, so technically speaking “paid mods” have been around in Skyrim for a while.