Sunsetting the Bethesda.net Launcher & Migrating to Steam

[Armenius]

Bethesda has announced that their Bethesda.net launcher is being retired. If you have purchased anything through the launcher and/or have funds in your wallet (including virtual currency such as Crowns), it will all migrate over to Steam. The link below details what that process will look like. Starting in April the migration process will become available. Starting in May you will no longer be able to play your games through the Bethesda.net launcher. Games that require a Bethesda.net account to access online features will continue to do so after the launcher is taken away.

https://bethesda.net/en/article/2RX...-bethesda-net-launcher-and-migrating-to-steam

Q: How will I play my games?​

A: We encourage our Bethesda.net Launcher community to continue their experience on Steam. In early April, you will be able to migrate your Bethesda.net library to your Steam account. Any title you own on the Bethesda.net Launcher will be available to you free on Steam. Your purchases will carry over to your Steam account. Many game saves will also transfer, however some may require manual copying. For more information on which games will require you to manually move your saves, please see our FAQ Entry "What happens to my game progression and saves?".​

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Q: What will happen to the Bethesda.net launcher?​

A: You will continue to have access to the Bethesda.net Launcher and access your games until May. Starting in May, you will no longer be able to play and access your games within the Bethesda.net Launcher.​

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Q: Will I still need a Bethesda.net account if I no longer use the launcher after transferring to Steam?​

A: Yes. Many of our games and services still rely on you to have a Bethesda.net account. 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.​

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Q: Will I have access to the games I own on the Bethesda.net launcher available to me on Steam?​

A: Yes. You will need to take the steps to transfer your Bethesda.net account info to your Steam account. Once the migration process to Steam is available, we will let everyone know and update this FAQ with the link on where and how to migrate. Please note, that you may begin this process at any time after it becomes available, but in May you will no longer be able to play your purchased games on the Bethesda.net launcher. You will not lose access to your Library on Bethesda.net in May, only the ability to play them on the Launcher.​

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Q: What happens to my game progression and saves?​

A: Should you choose to transfer your Bethesda.net library to your Steam account, we will provide instructions on how to migrate your game progression and saves over to your Steam account where possible, so you may continue playing where you left off. Some saves will automatically transfer, however some will require you to manually copy them to your Steam folder. We will have more information on manually transferring saves soon. At this time, we expect almost all save progress to be transferable automatically or manually with the exception of Wolfenstein: Youngblood, which currently is unable to transfer.​

Virtual currency balances and game add-ons such as DLC and in-game skins will automatically transfer.​

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Q: Will my in-game virtual currency (Atoms, Crowns, etc.) be moved to Steam?​

A: Yes. Your Bethesda.net Wallet will transfer over to Steam once you have completed the transfer process.​

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Q: Can I migrate to PlayStation or Xbox instead of Steam?​

A: No. We are only able to support transferring your Bethesda.net account information on PC. We cannot transfer PC account information to consoles.​

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Q: May I migrate my account to another PC service instead of Steam?​

A: No. We are only able to support transferring account information from the Bethesda.net launcher to Steam.​

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Q: Does the Launcher closing affect my Bethesda.net account?​

A: No. You will still need to login to your Bethesda.net account to play our live titles such as Fallout 76 and access other services offered. Our games will continue to use a Bethesda.net account in the future.​

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Q: What about Fallout 76?​

A: We have a comprehensive Fallout 76 FAQ available here.​

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Q: Are all the same languages supported?​

A: Yes.​

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Q: Will friends lists be merged? Will I need to re-friend friends I added on Bethesda.net?​

A: Games that have the Bethesda.net Friends List will be merged after migration. This includes Fallout 76, DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, The Elder Scrolls: Legends, Rage 2, and DEATHLOOP.​

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Q: Will the Bethesda.net Launcher sunset affect my ability to play The Elder Scrolls Online on PC?​

A: No. The Elder Scrolls Online is unaffected by this change.​

 

[Lakados]

Makes sense, managing and maintaining a launcher and the digital resources it requires is getting more and more expensive as security needs increase.

I expect many smaller launchers to consolidate in the next 2-3 years.

 

[M76]

I'm surprised but at the same time very glad they are not transferring the games to the windows store.

 

[Furious_Styles]

Hopefully more of this happens, these bare bone launchers sucked and they never seemed to want to invest in making them good platforms.

 

[SeymourGore]

I'm surprised but at the same time very glad they are not transferring the games to the windows store.

Good on MS for this - Windows Store would've been my first guess where Bethesda would've been relocating their launcher library.

 

[Aurelius]

Good on MS for this - Windows Store would've been my first guess where Bethesda would've been relocating their launcher library.

It is good, but I suspect Microsoft realized it wouldn't have much choice... it could either go where the gamers are, or go to the Windows Store.

 

[Domingo]

Cool. That's one less launcher I have to have installed. Works for me.

 

[Darunion]

I both hate having all my eggs in one basket at the same time i love having all my eggs in one basket.

 

[jfreund]

Some good news following the MS acquisition. Now, how will these games run on the Steam Deck

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

I'm just surprised Epic didn't jump on this one and pay them lots of money to get them to merge with them instead.

 

[Domingo]

I both hate having all my eggs in one basket at the same time i love having all my eggs in one basket.

LOL, yup. Luckily there are still plenty of other baskets (Epic, Ubi, EA, Battle.net, Rockstar, Xbox PC Store, GOG, etc.) and Bethesda's basket was among the worst ones out there.

 

[zamardii12]

So happy this will be disappearing.

 

[Armenius]

Good on MS for this - Windows Store would've been my first guess where Bethesda would've been relocating their launcher library.

My guess is the process is a lot easier to move to Steam than it is to move to Microsoft Store. I imagine the wallet would be a sticking point for a MS Store transfer.

I'm just surprised Epic didn't jump on this one and pay them lots of money to get them to merge with them instead.

There are no first-party Microsoft games on EGS.

 

[sharknice]

This seems like a MS buyout related decision to me, and considering MS just bought Activision Blizzard...

I wonder what will happen to the Blizzard Battle.net launcher. It used to just be Blizzard games, but then Activision started selling their games on it. It was never built out or meant to be a full on game store.

 

[Armenius]

This seems like a MS buyout related decision to me, and considering MS just bought Activision Blizzard...

I wonder what will happen to the Blizzard Battle.net launcher. It used to just be Blizzard games, but then Activision started selling their games on it. It was never built out or meant to be a full on game store.

I actually like the way the Battle.net launcher works, but I do have to wonder what will happen to it once the Activision acquisition is finished. Is there even a way available to Microsoft to transfer those accounts over to the Microsoft Store or other service without any issues? I can imagine it getting really messy, so I wonder if Microsoft is just going to rebrand Battle.net and integrate it somehow.

 

[DukenukemX]

I'm surprised but at the same time very glad they are not transferring the games to the windows store.

Not transferring to the Windows store... yet. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft is looking to buy Valve and Steam. Makes no sense for Microsoft to put their games on Steam. One would think the Microsoft Store is the goal for Microsoft.

 

[Armenius]

Not transferring to the Windows store... yet. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft is looking to buy Valve and Steam. Makes no sense for Microsoft to put their games on Steam. One would think the Microsoft Store is the goal for Microsoft.

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It's harder to acquire Valve since they're still a private company and doing really well by themselves. It would be a hard sell to Valve's executives, especially while Gabe is still president of the company.

 

[kirbyrj]

This seems like a MS buyout related decision to me, and considering MS just bought Activision Blizzard...

I wonder what will happen to the Blizzard Battle.net launcher. It used to just be Blizzard games, but then Activision started selling their games on it. It was never built out or meant to be a full on game store.

Which is surprising it just didn't get folded into the Xbox launcher.

 

[Domingo]

Destiny 2 transitioned to Steam (from Battle.net) pretty seamlessly, so I'm all for that platform being killed off, too. It IS one of the better launchers, but I'm over needing to have 8 different launchers/stores on my PC. We'll still have plenty of choice and options with only 7.

 

[jfreund]

It's harder to acquire Valve since they're still a private company and doing really well by themselves. It would be a hard sell to Valve's executives, especially while Gabe is still president of the company.

Yeah, I don't see Gabe returning to MS voluntarily. He's working hard to decouple PC gaming from Windows.

 

[Zarathustra[H]]

There are no first-party Microsoft games on EGS.

Understood, but I'm sure Epic would love to have them, and they seem to be willing to spend the money chasing such things.

 

[1_rick]

I actually like the way the Battle.net launcher works, but I do have to wonder what will happen to it once the Activision acquisition is finished. Is there even a way available to Microsoft to transfer those accounts over to the Microsoft Store or other service without any issues? I can imagine it getting really messy, so I wonder if Microsoft is just going to rebrand Battle.net and integrate it somehow.

Well, they migrated all the Minecraft accounts to Microsoft ones recently.

 

[That_Sound_Guy]

I both hate having all my eggs in one basket at the same time i love having all my eggs in one basket.

I would like the "eggs are in my basket" option back.

 

[Darunion]

I would like the "eggs are in my basket" option back.

Good point. We don't even get to hold the basket, just look at a list of whats in each basket.

 

[That_Sound_Guy]

Good point. We don't even get to hold the basket, just look at a list of whats in each basket.

Even more depressing the basket is being held by the likes of Gabe Newell and Tim Sweeney.

With all the buyouts and mergers happening, I see the gaming landscape turning into the console/mobile market setups. Mobile is Google Play and Apple. Amazon, Samsung, etc etc far off. Console is Sony and Microsoft. Nintendo being in their own unique universe not comparable. PC gaming will be Microsoft, Steam and then everyone else combined trying to compete. I don't see EA/Epic (don't see their business model holding)/Ubi hanging in there as exclusivity gets worse. Only outlier that may remain unique may be Rockstar and their extreme loyal fanbase.

/old cranky gamer who will die with his UT99, Diablo, MOH:AA and C&C Generals discs in his hands.

 

[kirbyrj]

Good point. We don't even get to hold the basket, just look at a list of whats in each basket.

Exactly, software licensing is all about the licensing agreements you clicked through to play games. Nobody owns anything if they can't install it.

 

[Flogger23m]

That is good. I have one game on there, got it from a GPU I think. Would be easier to put it on Steam.

I think outside of EA and Ubisoft, which tend to have annual releases of certain flagship titles we'll see more companies push away from the concept of having their own store/launcher. Exception being the biggest few, like Rockstar.

Whoever had plans or already did this already will probably pit Valve and Epic against each other to negotiate special contracts regarding selling fees.

 

[Zepher]

I wonder if it will automatically migrate if you have your Steam account linked with Bethesda. I only have one game there, Wolfenstein Youngblood and just linked my accounts and will see what happens in the future.

 

[polonyc2]

I signed in just to check if I actually bought any games through the Bethesda launcher...all I see in my Library are a bunch of older games I never played...Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall is the only interesting game I have in there...I'm glad to see them fold up into Steam...the era of every publisher/developer having their own launcher is hopefully coming to an end

 

[jfreund]

I'd play StarCraft 2 if MS put it on Steam.

 

[Ebernanut]

I'm surprised to see some good news on this front but I'll take it. All these publishers creating their own launcher and tying their games to them has created a lot of fragmentation and the only recent competition in the multi-publisher launcher market has engaged in anti-competitive practices.

 

[TrevorR]

Not transferring to the Windows store... yet. At this point I wouldn't be surprised if Microsoft is looking to buy Valve and Steam. Makes no sense for Microsoft to put their games on Steam. One would think the Microsoft Store is the goal for Microsoft.

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Actually, even before Microsoft purchased Bethesda, they made their games available on steam in recent years. Halo MCC, Forza Horizon, Gears 5. Halo Infinite.

It can be assumed that they figured if putting their games on steam as well that it would net more money.

 

[DukenukemX]

Actually, even before Microsoft purchased Bethesda, they made their games available on steam in recent years. Halo MCC, Forza Horizon, Gears 5. Halo Infinite.

It can be assumed that they figured if putting their games on steam as well that it would net more money.

That's what it sounds like. But I doubt Microsoft is happy to let Valve make all their money when Microsoft has a perfectly working store. This maybe one of those temporary situations where Microsoft maybe observing what Valve does in order to improve their own store. Microsoft has never easily compromised when it comes to market domination.

 

[Gorankar]

MS does not have a perfectly working store though. A great many refuse to to use it, I doubt they ever will. People have pretty much rejected the MS store. If it's not on Steam or GOG, it may as well not exist for a lot of people. Even Epic has issues. They have to bribe devs for exclusivity, and even then more than a few just refuse to use their service.
MS likes control, but MS shareholders like profit more. They will do what pays.

 

[Derangel]

That's what it sounds like. But I doubt Microsoft is happy to let Valve make all their money when Microsoft has a perfectly working store. This maybe one of those temporary situations where Microsoft maybe observing what Valve does in order to improve their own store. Microsoft has never easily compromised when it comes to market domination.

I think it also had to do with MS having people in charge that actually know what they’re doing for once. They tried tying everything to the MS Store for a bit, saw that it wasn’t working out like they wanted, then adapted. Prior management would have either completely abandoned the attempt or just stuck their heads in the sand and pretended nothing was wrong. For the moment, they’re happy to share with Valve because it’s rather profitable for them and MS likes money.

 

[Flogger23m]

I think it also had to do with MS having people in charge that actually know what they’re doing for once. They tried tying everything to the MS Store for a bit, saw that it wasn’t working out like they wanted, then adapted. Prior management would have either completely abandoned the attempt or just stuck their heads in the sand and pretended nothing was wrong. For the moment, they’re happy to share with Valve because it’s rather profitable for them and MS likes money.

I think the plan is to get the studios afloat. The Xbox One wasn't selling that well, and fact is game development is very high and many studios have a hard time making necessary profits to stay in business on one platform. Microsoft's games in general haven't been doing that good. Putting them on PC, especially a store where people would actually buy them, helps keep these studios afloat.

I'm sure in a few years they'll have some big hits again and they'll try and gate keep a high profile game behind the Microsoft store. They'll flesh out the store a bit more, and gradually each year more people use it for other menial apps. They're just waiting until the time is right to make the move back. But continuing to lock games behind the poorly received store in the immediate post Win 8 era was obviously not working.

 

[Lakados]

I think the plan is to get the studios afloat. The Xbox One wasn't selling that well, and fact is game development is very high and many studios have a hard time making necessary profits to stay in business on one platform. Microsoft's games in general haven't been doing that good. Putting them on PC, especially a store where people would actually buy them, helps keep these studios afloat.

I'm sure in a few years they'll have some big hits again and they'll try and gate keep a high profile game behind the Microsoft store. They'll flesh out the store a bit more, and gradually each year more people use it for other menial apps. They're just waiting until the time is right to make the move back. But continuing to lock games behind the poorly received store in the immediate post Win 8 era was obviously not working.

I think you are reading a lot more into it than it really is. It's probably a lot more like this
Microsoft accounting looking over sales numbers for the launcher
Microsoft accounting looking over the costs associated with that launcher
Microsoft accounting calculating the numbers if those sales had been done through Valve instead
Microsoft accounting realizing they would have made more actual profits if the launcher didn't exist and the sales were all handled through Valve

Microsoft accounting directing some intern to do up a PowerPoint on the cost-benefit analysis of moving the operation to Valve
Microsoft management going, OK that makes sense let's do it.

Many developers and publishers are coming to the painful realization that they missed the boat on their storefronts, this is no longer a world of "if you build it they will come", users are sort of entrenched in what they are using and they have no incentives to switch, if there was some sort of cost competition to move from one platform to another that may be the case but there isn't, nobodies shopping around between Valve, Epic, GoG, and the single-party launchers. They aren't underbidding each other to be the lowest price, they all put the stuff up for basically the same price with the occasional seasonal sale, and the odd case of an exclusive, yes a first-party owned store generates more direct revenue, but the reality is unless you can attract the vast majority of the sales of titles to that store then the expenses of operating and maintaining it quickly outpace the additional revenue those sales generate. And unless you have a steady stream of titles to be launching from your first-party store then as the costs pile up they actually eat profits further from the subsequent releases resulting in a platform that essentially exists as a money pit. Developers with titles that have very large user bases, or a very active release cycle can manage to easily recuperate those costs but smaller studios with infrequent releases or smaller games will just never make that back.

 

[Derangel]

I think the plan is to get the studios afloat. The Xbox One wasn't selling that well, and fact is game development is very high and many studios have a hard time making necessary profits to stay in business on one platform. Microsoft's games in general haven't been doing that good. Putting them on PC, especially a store where people would actually buy them, helps keep these studios afloat.

I'm sure in a few years they'll have some big hits again and they'll try and gate keep a high profile game behind the Microsoft store. They'll flesh out the store a bit more, and gradually each year more people use it for other menial apps. They're just waiting until the time is right to make the move back. But continuing to lock games behind the poorly received store in the immediate post Win 8 era was obviously not working.

I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they try that at some point, but probably not for a few years. Maybe try it with the 2025 COD or perhaps something smaller like a game from MachineGames or DoubleFine. Assuming they can get everything in order and increase Series sales enough to be comfortable. Not to mention convincing the Windows division to unfuck the store.

 

[Lakados]

I wouldn’t be terribly surprised if they try that at some point, but probably not for a few years. Maybe try it with the 2025 COD or perhaps something smaller like a game from MachineGames or DoubleFine. Assuming they can get everything in order and increase Series sales enough to be comfortable. Not to mention convincing the Windows division to unfuck the store.

The windows store needs a full rebuild from top to bottom, it has some technical benefits with how things are packaged but they are so minor that it borders on pointless at this stage given the convenience factors of other stores.

 

[Flogger23m]

I think you are reading a lot more into it than it really is. It's probably a lot more like this
Microsoft accounting looking over sales numbers for the launcher
Microsoft accounting looking over the costs associated with that launcher
Microsoft accounting calculating the numbers if those sales had been done through Valve instead
Microsoft accounting realizing they would have made more actual profits if the launcher didn't exist and the sales were all handled through Valve

Microsoft accounting directing some intern to do up a PowerPoint on the cost-benefit analysis of moving the operation to Valve
Microsoft management going, OK that makes sense let's do it.

Many developers and publishers are coming to the painful realization that they missed the boat on their storefronts, this is no longer a world of "if you build it they will come", users are sort of entrenched in what they are using and they have no incentives to switch, if there was some sort of cost competition to move from one platform to another that may be the case but there isn't, nobodies shopping around between Valve, Epic, GoG, and the single-party launchers. They aren't underbidding each other to be the lowest price, they all put the stuff up for basically the same price with the occasional seasonal sale, and the odd case of an exclusive, yes a first-party owned store generates more direct revenue, but the reality is unless you can attract the vast majority of the sales of titles to that store then the expenses of operating and maintaining it quickly outpace the additional revenue those sales generate. And unless you have a steady stream of titles to be launching from your first-party store then as the costs pile up they actually eat profits further from the subsequent releases resulting in a platform that essentially exists as a money pit. Developers with titles that have very large user bases, or a very active release cycle can manage to easily recuperate those costs but smaller studios with infrequent releases or smaller games will just never make that back.

Those are valid points, but the Microsoft store isn't going away anytime soon if ever. Unless Microsoft removes it from Windows 12, which I doubt. Likewise I'm sure you'll see the process repeated again, and there is a big possibility of them throwing it behind the Microsoft store.

Microsoft killed the Start Menu, then brought it back, and now is kind of trying to kill it again in Win 11. One thing is certain - Microsoft has a history or repeating themselves and trying again after a few years. Remember Games For Windows Live? This isn't the first time Microsoft killed a PC based client and pushed games to Steam.