With the end of Bethesda as an independent publisher, begins the end of the unpopular Bethesda launcher. The DRM system has been suppressed after the multi-billion acquisition of the conglomerate by Microsoft. Before the shutdown, players will have the option to migrate their games and save them to Steam.
Migration to a new house will be possible from April. After that the exact information will be published. In addition to games and saves, this includes the current balance in the launcher’s wallet as well as the balance in the game, purchased DLC and cosmetic items. As a result, Bethesda insists that no assets are lost as a result of the hiring. However, in some cases, it may be necessary to manually transfer the scores; However, for the majority, this process should be automated. As of the current situation, no takeover is possible only in the case of Wolfenstein: Youngblood.
Bethesda account still required
Bethesda account will not be issued with binding migration. Games that require a Betheda.net account will continue to do so, and the required servers will be kept alive. Access to mods, in-game items, and “exclusive news” remains intact, the company writes.
There is no time limit for transfer. However, the launcher will lose a function at the beginning of May, since then it will not be possible to start the game. The game, however, does not equate to losing the library and thus will likely continue to move to Steam, Bethesda emphasizes. Although Microsoft also operates a store, it’s not offered as an option, you can just switch to Valve’s platform.
no need for microsoft
For the new owner at Microsoft, who has been silent about the reasons why Launcher ended, Publisher’s own launcher doesn’t make sense. Finally, the Windows Store, which is also unpopular, has its own alternative on PC, and the group also sells many games through Steam. It would be madness to depend on many self-constructions from an economic point of view. It will be interesting to see what happens to Blizzard’s Battle.net, should the Activision acquisition be approved by regulators.
However, in the medium term, the goal is to consolidate Game Pass anyway. Subscriptions don’t require a separate launcher, but multiple games. The fact that the store isn’t forced to go, but doesn’t play a role, also indicates that consolidation is the goal.
