RIP Bethesda Launcher
Although Steam continues to be the world's leading store/launcher when it comes to the PC marketplace, many publishers have elected to start their own similar hubs. This not only gives companies a central place to buy and purchase their products, but also cuts out the Valve-owned Steam, which controversially takes a 30% cut of every sale on its platform (per VG247). Companies such as Rockstar and Epic Games have created their own launchers and marketplaces to keep all of those profits to themselves. Bethesda is also among those companies. Or at least, it was.
Hitting the scene in 2016, the Bethesda.net Launcher has been one of the premiere destinations for playing games developed by Bethesda, the studio behind classic IP such as "Fallout" and "Elder Scrolls." But the launcher seems to have failed to live up to expectations. Now, Bethesda has announced plans to sunset the platform at some point in April and put its games on alternate PC launchers.
Some gamers — especially those who own games through the Bethesda.net launcher — might find that kind of news alarming, However, it seems that Bethesda will be enabling user data transfers over to Steam, which is good news for invested players.
All Bethesda.net launcher data will be migrated to Steam
Alongside the announcement that Bethesda would be shutting down its own launcher also came with the announcement that Bethesda.net launcher users would be able to migrate all of their data — owned games, save progress, etc. — over to Steam beginning in early April. Player wallets will also be carried over and honored in Steam's marketplace, ensuring that players won't lose anything in the transition.
"The migration to Steam will include your game library and Wallet – meaning you will not lose anything from your Bethesda.net account," Bethesda's press release reads. "Many games will also have their saves migrated, with a few requiring some manual transfers. For games that require it, you will still use your Bethesda.net login to sign in to play."
Despite the launcher itself shutting down, many of the developer's games will still require a Bethesda.net account to play. This includes "Fallout 76", which received its very own FAQ to help with the transition from the Bethesda Launcher to Steam. It is unknown exactly why the shutdown and subsequent migration over to Steam is occurring at this time, but gamers are covered in any such case.
RIP Bethesda Launcher. We hardly knew ya.