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Bethesda announced it is closing the Bethesda.net Launcher, where PC players can access its games. On the bright side, the company promised that transferring players’ Wallet and game saves to Steam will be a breeze.
A few years ago, several major video game publishers started introducing their in-house PC launchers that were either required to use or served as an alternative to Steam. Developers and publishers have previously raised concerns about Valve’s 30 percent cut from games and add-on content purchased from its digital store. And it was likely one of the reasons that compelled Bethesda to launch the Bethesda.net Launcher in 2016.
It is unclear why Bethesda is shutting down its in-house launcher, but it will mark the return of all its PC games to Steam. In an FAQ released in the announcement post about Bethesda.net Launcher sunsetting, the “Fallout” and “The Elder Scrolls” developer confirmed that players can only transfer their game saves and Wallet items to Steam. Migration from the PC launcher to PlayStation or Xbox is not supported.
Bethesda did not offer step-by-step instructions for the game transfers yet. But players are told they need to link their Steam accounts to their Bethesda.net Launcher accounts. In the same blog post, the company said some games will be automatically transferred to Steam, while others will require manual transfers. The migration process will not cost players any additional payment.
Bethesda.net Launcher games and Wallet migration is expected to be available on all games, except for “Wolfenstein: Youngblood.” The company also noted that any virtual currency and game add-ons saved on its launcher will be automatically transferred to Steam.
Meanwhile, players should still keep their Bethesda.net login information even after they have migrated their games and Wallet to Steam. “Many of our games and services still rely on you to have a Bethesda.net account,” the company said. “This will allow you to retain access to Bethesda.net services including game mods, in-game items like skins, and access to exclusive news and updates.”
Details about the migration process should be available in the coming weeks, and players will be able to start transferring their game saves and Wallet balances in early April. Players can no longer access their games from the Bethesda.net Launcher sometime in May.
Photo by Marco Verch / Flickr under Creative Commons license
