Bethesda Drops Its Own Launcher, Transitions to Steam

Remember the Bethesda.net Launcher? That barebones thing that only made the news when it deleted people’s games instead of updating them? Well, it’s going away this year, according to a new blog post.

If you owned any games there, fret not, as Bethesda says they are migrating everything to Steam, and will offer a path to take your titles to Valve’s platform. Saves should also transfer, either automatically or manually, with the exception of Wolfenstein: Youngblood which is apparently giving Bethesda a hard time (so if you own it on the Bethesda.net Launcher and wish to complete a campaign save game that’s close to the end of the game, I’d say your best bet is to do it soon).

Here’s a helpful FAQ which I’ve copied from the blog post linked in the first paragraph of this article:

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?”.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Q: What about Fallout 76?
A: We have a comprehensive Fallout 76 FAQ available here.

Q: Are all the same languages supported?
A: Yes.

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.

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.

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