I haven't donated yet although I probably will eventually to a few mods that I've enjoyed having in my game. There's about 3 that I feel deserve a one time donation from me. I would never pay for early access.. ever. I don't have that kind of money to nickle and dime away. Right now I'm playing mod-less until the next pack is released and any updates are made.. and the game is fun to me without mods, actually I've been more involved than when I was using mods.. which is interesting to me. I just need a little more blood and guts ect.. from time to time. It's time to work with the "Machete!"
I do think the figures also indicate how popular the game is in general... because if people can get something for free most will. It would be interesting to compare download figures to the money earned. I'll bet what creators make is a pittance compared to what is downloaded.
It makes sense to me that people will be willing to show their gratitude more to modders that will bring content to the games that they know they will not get any other way... especially if the quality of the work is high and frequently updated.
Maybe in a future iteration EA will bring out games with dual ratings... and get a bigger piece of the pie.
