What once slowly began as a steam isolation in 2016 will soon be history: Bethesda announcesto completely discontinue their own Bethesda Launcher later this year. Instead, it’s going all the way back to Valve’s distribution platform, having embarked on that path in 2019.
Speaking of Steam: there will soon be major changes for regular sales. We have summarized all information about this for you in a separate article.
Steam:
These rules will soon apply to Sales
Anyone who has purchased or activated games in the Bethesda Launcher in the past need not fear any disadvantages: You can transfer your entire library to Steam. We will tell you which dates are important for this and what else needs to be considered.
Bethesda Launcher discontinued: All important information
How long will the Bethesda Launcher be available?
Not for long. The platform will be discontinued in May. You will still have access to your game library, but you will no longer be able to play it. Instead, you are forced to transfer your games to Steam.
When will the switch to Steam begin?
Not immediately. According to Bethesda, the migration is expected to start in early April. There is currently no exact date. However, once the migration process has started, you can do it at any time.
What is transferred when switching to Steam?
When you transfer, all your purchased games and DLCs will be transferred from the Bethesda Launcher to Steam. This also applies to virtual game currencies such as Atoms from Fallout 76 – the Bethesda.net wallet will also be available to you on Steam.
This is how the Bethesda Launcher currently greets you at the start. However, it is not yet possible to switch to Steam.
How about game saves?
You can also take over your saved games – with restrictions. According to Bethesda, almost all saves should be transferable either automatically or manually. The latter involves copying your save folder to the Steam folder.
Bethesda has not yet revealed which games are affected by a manual change. A list will follow soon.
The only exception is Wolfenstein: Youngblood, where no save will be transferrable. So if you don’t want to restart the co-op offshoot of the Wolfenstein series, you have to hurry now. Otherwise there is a risk of losing your own game progress.
How is Fallout 76 doing?
Fallout 76 has been playable on Steam for a long time and was even briefly available as a transfer to Valve’s platform. With the end of the Bethesda Launcher, the complete move will now follow for all players.
When you transfer to Steam, your character and season progression will carry over, as well as any Atoms you have on your account. Your Fallout 1st membership will also be carried over, but you will immediately be credited with all Atoms from the remaining term of your membership when you switch. In addition, your subscription will not be automatically renewed after expiry, you have to confirm this manually via Steam.
By the way, we will tell you how Fallout 76 will continue in 2022 in the following article:
Fallout 76
Roadmap promises return to Fallout 3 DLC
Do I still need a Bethesda.net account?
Yes, because even after the transfer, some of the Bethesda games still rely on a Bethesda.net login. You should definitely not forget your account details.
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