The Bethesda launcher is going bye-bye later this year. The developer-publisher, which is behind greats such as The Elder Scrolls series, Fallout 4, and the upcoming space epic Starfield, is shuttering its own platform and migrating its games over to Steam.
“We encourage our Bethesda.net Launcher community to continue their experience on Steam,” Bethesda explains in a blog post. “In early April, you will be able to migrate your Bethesda.net library to your Steam account” – so, any game that you own on the company’s launcher will be free to then pick up on Steam, with all of your purchases carrying over to their new home. So, virtual currency balances and add-ons like DLC and cosmetics will automatically make the journey over to Steam.
It’s worth noting, too, that “many” game saves will also transfer over to Steam, though there’ll be some that you might need to copy over manually. “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,” the studio explains. Fret not if the manual copying malarkey ends up applying to you, though – instructions on how to manually transfer game saves are on the way “soon”.
In terms of timeframe, you’ll be able to start moving your goods over to Steam sometime in “early April”, Bethesda says. The company will offer “detailed instructions” to players then. The Bethesda launcher will still be open until May, after which time the company will sunset it, so it would be a good idea to start moving your games over once those instructions come through. You won’t lose access to your library on Bethesda.net in May – it’s just that you won’t be able to play there anymore.
📣 ATTENTION PC PLAYERS: We are retiring the Bethesda Launcher and moving to Steam.
Here’s everything you’re going to want to know about what to expect and how to migrate your Bethesda Library to Steam: https://t.co/KBBokFeZkt pic.twitter.com/f0KWBqd0kp
— Bethesda (@bethesda) February 22, 2022
If you’re a Fallout 76 player, you might be keen to see how that’ll be affected. Bethesda has posted a dedicated blog about the online RPG, which you can check out here. The long and the short of it is that you’ll get to keep your characters and progress if you’ve got your Steam and Bethesda.net accounts linked up. Atoms will also transfer, as will your seasons progress, CAMP builds, friends list, and Fallout First membership, if applicable. Do be sure to check out the full rundown for the nitty gritty on how it’ll work for Fallout 76, though.
The Elder Scrolls Online is unaffected by the closure of Bethesda’s launcher.