Bethesda Softworks has announced it’s “sunsetting” its Bethesda.Net launcher and migrating to Steam.
That might not mean much if you’ve been tackling The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, Fallout 76 and their ilk on consoles, but if you’ve been playing on PC it may be something of a relief. The Bethesda.net Launcher was – and, for a month or two, still is – Bethesda’s own PC-based game launcher, meaning that as well as Steam (or possibly the Epic Games Store) you’d have another program running in the background.
Now, as of April, you’ll be able to migrate PC games that you’ve purchased through Bethesda.net to Steam. You’ll have to, in fact, because as of May the Bethesda.net launcher will be shut down. However, that doesn’t mean your Bethesda.net purchases will be booted into the bin. The games you’ve purchased will remain attached to your Bethesda.net account, you just won’t be able to play them via the Bethesda.net launcher.
Because – and bear with us on this – Bethesda.net accounts aren’t going anywhere. If you want to play Fallout 76, you’ll still need a Bethesda.net account, meaning your progress will be carried across to Steam. However, you’ll have to manually migrate your Bethesda.net games. Bethesda will, over the next month or two, provide details as how to do this.
Got questions about #Fallout76 and our plans to sunset the Bethesda Launcher?
We’ve got you covered.
Head here to catch our Fallout 76 FAQ and to learn how you can keep playing through Steam:https://t.co/aIWaqQn3xp pic.twitter.com/fO7dp6Ggoy— Fallout (@Fallout) February 22, 2022
Is this a good thing? Basically, yes. In fact, we wish that Rockstar would follow suit because, as much as we love Red Dead Redemption 2, having to launch Steam or the Epic Games Store Launcher and then launch Rockstar’s own launcher (just to play offline) is a pain.
You can find full details of the transition at Bethesda’s website, including a handy FAQ.
