During my early years I wanted to become game developer. I did not. Later I found out that was the better choice.

Being a game developer you should always leverage quality for the sake of performance. You get paid X to get Y of production until specific date, so it is a trade off.
Being a modder - that is one of the most joyful things I have done, as I am not dependent on any restrictions beyond my own vision.

Real art is just art, nothing else involved.

Now on the other hand if money is really involved i think the donation model is really what is best. It does not fill your family dinner plate but it is the best tradeoff in order not to sacrifice quality.
In order to work the developer of the mod should have a place to advertise his work - Twitch, Youtube, social media etc.. 

Popularity is what brings the money. Unfortunately the Might and Magic universe is underdog franchize as a whole.

Not to finish with negative - I want to say I believe that despite the narrow popularity of the game I do foresee a bright future for it. 

As long as my fate is benevolent, I will be here for many years to come.