After more than six years in commission, the Bethesda PC launcher, more commonly known as Bethesda.net, is being retired, with its full library of games migrating to Steam. The move was announced over on the official Bethesda website, where the publisher also released an FAQ on what players can expect from this retirement.

• Related Reading: Fallout 76 Roadmap 2022 Revealed, New Content Starting This Spring

According to the post, the migration of the Bethesda PC launcher library will begin in early April, but players who choose to can still access their Bethesda account until May. The publisher has not released specific dates, so stay tuned for that once they’ve been announced.

You have plenty of time to plan and begin migrating your Bethesda.net library to your Steam account. The migration to Steam will include your game library and Wallet – meaning you will not lose anything from your Bethesda.net account. Many games will also have their saves migrated, with a few requiring some manual transfers. For games that require it, you will still use your Bethesda.net login to sign in to play. Your Bethesda.net account will not be lost and will still be accessible on our website and in-game, and we will continue supporting all Bethesda.net accounts with our future titles.

In case you have more questions needing to be answered, particularly with the publisher’s big online multiplayer titles like The Elder Scrolls Online, check out the FAQ below:

FAQ

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, 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.

The publisher also released a separate FAQ for Fallout 76, given that it seems it’s a whole different beast entirely. Check it out below:

Q: How will I continue playing Fallout 76?

A: We’re encouraging everyone in our Bethesda.net Launcher community to continue their experiences with our games 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, including Fallout 76, and your purchases will carry over to your Steam account.

Q: Will I lose my characters/progress?

A: No. As long as your Steam account is linked to the Bethesda.net account you use when playing through the Bethesda.net Launcher, then you will have access to the same characters on Steam. We will provide instructions to link your account in April.

Q: Will my Atoms transfer to Steam?

A: Yes. Any Atoms that you have in your account through the Bethesda.net Launcher will be transferred or added to your Steam account.

Q: Will my Seasons progress be maintained?

A: Yes. Seasons and challenge progression are stored on your Bethesda.net account, which means that you will maintain your earned ranks, claimed ranks, and challenge progress when you migrate to Steam.

Q: Will my C.A.M.P. build be affected?

A: No. Everything saved on your characters, such as their C.A.M.P. and Shelter builds, will remain with those characters through the migration.

Q: Will I still have my Friends List?

A: Yes. Steam utilizes our Bethesda.net friend system just like the Bethesda.net Launcher, which means you will retain your current Friends List when you migrate.

Q: What will happen to the Fallout 76 Public Test Server (PTS)?

A: We launched the Fallout 76 Public Test Server on Steam during “Invaders from Beyond” Update playtesting. Going forward, playtesting for all future PTS phases will only be available on PC through Steam.

Q: What will happen to the Bethesda.net launcher?

A: You will continue to have access to the Bethesda.net Launcher and your games there until we begin the sunsetting process in May. At that time, you will become unable to access or play your games within the Bethesda.net Launcher. You will be able to initiate account migration starting in April, and we highly encourage you to start that process as soon as it becomes available.

Q: What will happen with my Fallout 1st membership?

A: If you have an active Fallout 1st membership, you will continue to have the same in-game benefits after migrating to Steam as you do on the Bethesda.net Launcher.

Once you move to Steam, all of the remaining Atoms due to you from your membership will instantly be credited to your account. If you’re a yearly member, you’ll receive all of your Atoms for the remainder of your membership. For instance, if your yearly membership expires in 8 months’ time, you’ll receive all 8 months of Atoms at once when you migrate to Steam.

In April, your Fallout 1st membership will not automatically renew. Once your membership expires you will need to renew your membership on the Steam platform. You can check the expiration date of your Bethesda.net Fallout 1st membership in your account on Bethesda.net.

There you have it. Bethesda has not provided any details as to what facilitated the move, but overall this should be great news to all of those on Steam who are tired of logging in twice for their Bethesda titles: once for Steam, and the other for the separate Bethesda PC launcher.

Stay tuned for more on this migration, especially the specific dates on the closure of the Bethesda.net launcher!

Source: Bethesda