Didn't that get shot down to the depths of hell within about 30 seconds when steam launched it?
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2015/04/27/valve-axes-paid-skyrim-mods
Only for Skyrim, because they already had a well supported structure and community for free mods outside of Steam.
There is no structure here, there is no continuous support of the model assuming there was one to begin with, and there is no compensation for the content creators.
Edit: There's a lot of other drama around that whole episode with the Skyrim mods also. The EULA had a bunch of sketchy language in it that basically boiled down to Bethesda having control over a lot of things such as availability and price, Bethesda getting a cut of the profits when they are completely hands-off with the mod community (the structure I spoke about is created by the community, not the devs or publisher), and have had a long history of trying to exploit the community for their profit without doing anything to support them. Days after the whole kerfuffle ended Bethesda announced Fallout 4, and at the same time they announced that they would be creating their own Digital Distribution platform like Steam. If Bethesda wasn't using Valve as a cat's-paw to see how they should model their paid mods platform and how the community would react to the decision I'll eat my boots.
Don't get me wrong I'd love it for the artists to get paid I just don't think its needed right now, people create art for the love of the game and being able to look at a ship skin and say I helped create that. Why do people mod any other game? I can tell you for sure it isn't for the cash. Whilst nice I'd prefer it if the community art allowed for cheaper skins/decals and customisation to make it more accessible to the masses. Many £'s for a paintjob is often a bit off key for students on a budget... I'd be creating skins for free if I didn't have the art skills of a 3 year old with a crayon, maybe some nice natural skins like volcano/lightning (
http://eurotrucksimulator2.info/pl/wp-content/gallery/dlc_nature/nature5.jpg)
For the reason I mentioned, it's not for the sake of the artist, it's for the sake of the game. Out of that 57 million Steam's workshop made for artists (plus Steam's cut for actual revenue) over the years 95% of it has been for Team Fortress 2, which has lived so far beyond it's natural lifespan as a result to the point it's profane, and Counterstrike: Global Offensive, a $15 game that has proven to be one of Valve's most profitable productions to date in a short period of time thanks to community created content and support of the e-sport community, which Frontier is also trying to get the attention of with CQC.
E-sports players love to bling out their gear and show it off, and the people who watch them love to do the same as a form of expression.
