What you need to know
- Bethesda is retiring its PC games launcher.
- Player game libraries and wallets are being moved to Steam, with the option for transfer opening up sometime in April.
- The Bethesda launcher will remain active for players to use until some point in May.
Bethesda's PC game launcher is being retired, with Bethesda's library of games moved to Steam.
Bethesda shared on Tuesday that player libraries and wallets will be migrated to Steam, with the option opening up starting sometime in April 2022. All games and outstanding funds will transfer over, in addition to most game saves, though a few games may require a manual save file transfer.
The exact details for this player transfer are not currently available but Bethesda writes that more will be shared when the transfer tool goes live. This move comes ahead of the launch of Ghostwire: Tokyo, the next game from Tango Gameworks. Bethesda is also currently planning to launch Starfield, the next big title from Bethesda Game Studios, on Nov. 11, 2022.
While most Bethesda games and add-ons are currently available on Steam, this move will bring the PC pipeline of Bethesda Softworks more in line with Xbox Game Studios, with games launching across PC Game Pass and Steam.
Microsoft finalized the acquisition of ZeniMax Media back in March 2021, adding Bethesda Softworks as an Xbox first-party publisher alongside Xbox Game Studios. Microsoft is currently working to acquire Activision Blizzard, a deal that is slated to close by June 2023. Activision Blizzard currently uses its own PC launcher, Battle.net. We'll have to wait and see how Microsoft ends up handling that additional launcher once the acquisition is complete.
