• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.
  • The forums have been upgraded with support for dark mode. By default it will follow the setting on your system/browser. You may override it by scrolling to the end of the page and clicking the gears icon.

Bethesda Retires the Bethesda.net Launcher and Moves to Steam

I take it that Bethesda will offer us refunds for those of us that don't have, and don't want a Steam account?
ima hazard a guess and say no
theirs probably a cause in there terms and agreements that says this is okay
Heck the fact they are letting you transfer to steam is better then i thought

For me
i dont care what laucher its on
I get it where its cheapest
OR if its from uplay/ea ect
EPIC because epics better for that kind of stuff
It remains the only launcher worth using to me so I won't be joining that bandwagon for quite some time
 
Only use steam, if i buy off GoG i just download offline installer, don't need another launcher.
And the fact that you're able to do it that way is one of the main reasons GOG is the best.
 
And the fact that you're able to do it that way is one of the main reasons GOG is the best.
I agree gog is the best
its a shame they often dont have games or games are more expensive over there.
 
Things I hate about Steam:

View attachment 237586

View attachment 237587

View attachment 237591

Oh, and RIP this old "List" view that actually helped you manage a large Steam library by sortable columns - Install state, cloud sync state, last played, install size, location etc:
View attachment 237592

Steam is slowly but surely bloating out with microtransaction and sponsored content creep to become one of the worst game launchers and library managers out there. Sure the pricing in sales is good and the distribution network/download servers are excellent but it's 95% bullshit that has nothing to do with managing and launching your games, and that number grows with each abysmal interface update that hides actual games you've bought and shoves some new crap in your face instead....
oh ya I remember that "old list" now, the good ol days. Yes sometimes change for the sake of change isn't good. All the young kids probably like all that other fluff though lol

Me and my buddies do use the steam chat client more than discord or anything else, just cause convenience since we're all on steam.
 
This is great news. Steam is the best platform IMO and means one less to manage.
 
On this rare occasion, let me celebrate monopoly (just this once).
 
Good. The Bethesda launcher was woefully behind the times and mainly existed so Bethesda could control the narrative on game launches and cut steam out of the profits (which sucked because their game sales tanked once steam releases stopped). The windows store is an unmitigated trainwreck, and it seems that steam is the only one of the platforms that allows for easy file backupa nd restore without having to actually USE the backup tool that takes forever.
 
Well that explais, I happened to fire up Doom Eternal yesterday to check how it runs now with the i 3 and saw this pop up telling me that I can start my account migration to Steam soon and I was like wait what.:confused:

Oh well -1 launcher on my PC 'Had 7 already' + now I can have both 2016 DOOM and Eternal on Steam, not a big importance to me since I buy games all over the place but I definitely dont mind it.
 
I don't have much on the Bethesda launcher. I do, however, have some stuff on there which, at least currently, isn't on Steam. Namely some of the old Elder Scrolls games like Arena and Daggerfall. I wonder what will happen to those.
 
Good move however we need competition x steam for steam itself to lower prices, monopoly or lack of a good competition is never a good thing.
 
Microsoft probably has a pretty good deal with Steam. All MS are on steam but not on epic, and now they are moving the Bethesda services to steam and not the Xbox PC app.
.

Hey, look! Competition! Vendor-Exclusive content!

Strange how that market works :)

Just seen the news. Lol.

So... EA and Bethesda started their own clients, now they both crawl back to Steam.

Very nice IMHO to see the publisher-specific stores die a slow and painful death. That was really going nowhere. Next hurdle is killing double DRM, or DRM altogether, but that's wishful thinking.

I hope Ubisoft is next, that launcher/store is an absolute horror still.
 
Last edited:
Just seen the news. Lol.

So... EA and Bethesda started their own clients, now they both crawl back to Steam.

To be fair, EA had their own client around the time of Steam's launch. It was called EA Download Manager and eventually transformed into Origin. I inherited a lot of games from that because I'd get the keys for cheap from ebay back when EA still made physical discs. The abomination that is the EA App or whatever it's called is the joke. Origin at least knows about all my games. EA App is years in and still hasn't been updated to recognize Mass Effect 2 while it is fine with me owning Mass Effect 1, 3, and Andromeda. Why would you not add all your games first before you turn a service on? The best part is when it says, "Not see all your games? Don't worry. And if you need them, go turn Origin on."

Except you have to choose. Either EA App with Game Pass integration OR Origin. You can't run both simultaneously.

Origin was always good enough for me, though I don't play multiplayer games by EA.

The launcher review no one asked for:

Steam, does everything well>Uplay, fine>Battle.Net, new UI is too busy>Origin, functional>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GOG Galaxy, the system hog with no way back after you add integrations and that spends 10 minutes loading up every game if you stupidly think it will replace your other launchers>Rockstar, the glitchy>Epic, the bigger system hog>EA App, doesn't recognize all my games

People who praise GOG do not use Galaxy with any library at all. Galaxy is garbage. I'm guessing you GOG lovers are ignoring their Steam alternative completely.
 
To be fair, EA had their own client around the time of Steam's launch. It was called EA Download Manager and eventually transformed into Origin. I inherited a lot of games from that because I'd get the keys for cheap from ebay back when EA still made physical discs. The abomination that is the EA App or whatever it's called is the joke. Origin at least knows about all my games. EA App is years in and still hasn't been updated to recognize Mass Effect 2 while it is fine with me owning Mass Effect 1, 3, and Andromeda. Why would you not add all your games first before you turn a service on? The best part is when it says, "Not see all your games? Don't worry. And if you need them, go turn Origin on."

Except you have to choose. Either EA App with Game Pass integration OR Origin. You can't run both simultaneously.

Origin was always good enough for me, though I don't play multiplayer games by EA.

The launcher review no one asked for:

Steam, does everything well>Uplay, fine>Battle.Net, new UI is too busy>Origin, functional>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GOG Galaxy, the system hog with no way back after you add integrations and that spends 10 minutes loading up every game if you stupidly think it will replace your other launchers>Rockstar, the glitchy>Epic, the bigger system hog>EA App, doesn't recognize all my games

People who praise GOG do not use Galaxy with any library at all. Galaxy is garbage. I'm guessing you GOG lovers are ignoring their Steam alternative completely.

Galaxy IS garbage. But honestly, why would you want a launcher to do anything other than launch games. The whole mod support, and all the other added services are utter nonsense, games/publishers should manage that per game. Them not doing so is what creates this strange situation where the same game can't run launcher agnostic because numerous elements are 'done by Valve' or whatever other party.

See, that is the long and short of platformization. The companies that launch products on them, launch a product that 'looks' the same as it always did, but under the hood they paid others to deliver parts of it for them. So you're not buying 'the product', you're buying in to the platform. And then you're suddenly connected to a platform when all you needed was a product.

So GoG and Galaxy while being not the most optimal solution... are still the ONLY solution that releases products as feature complete things that work independently of the launcher. Realistically that's what you're expecting to get, right, when you click a buy button on any website?

Luckily in the case of Steam all you really need is a dll to circumvent the whole DRM they deploy, which is why every other pirated game is a Steam release, but still. Its not accessible unless you hack. Similarly, on Epic Games Store, their DRM is virtually nonexistant as well, but that stops abruptly when publishers start moving features to the platform, like mod support or the community elements. What we're also seeing is that publishers still deploy their own launcher behind the platform, so its clear they see a similar risk of not having full ownership/control. After all, you don't implement or pay for things twice on purpose.
 
Last edited:
Good riddance!
That abomination was so bad, they couldn't fix proper scaling on anything higher than 1080p for almost half-a-decade. Even something simple like patching games was a challenge, since in Bethesda's view "patch" was simply redownloading the entire game after every tiny fix. Used to play Quake Champions when it was still relevant, and 30+GB patches forced me to spend $10 on Steam for the cheapest "Scalebearer Edition" just to avoid that nightmare.
The only reason Bethesda Launcher existed is to "flex" on early releases and exclusives. Competition and innovation was never in the picture.
 
Microsoft probably has a pretty good deal with Steam. All MS are on steam but not on epic, and now they are moving the Bethesda services to steam and not the Xbox PC app.
.
Or they just realised it's a waste of money to keep it...

I'm fine with different launchers/game stores, unless I'm forced to install one just to play a game I bought somewhere else...
 
Or they just realised it's a waste of money to keep it...

I'm fine with different launchers/game stores, unless I'm forced to install one just to play a game I bought somewhere else...

Thats exactly what happened with me.
I wasn't using Bethesda launcher before Eternal but since I bought the Box physical copy of the game which came with a paper DvD with a code on it that only worked in Bethesda Launcher so yea.

Other than that I also don't mind various launchers, I don't have them auto start with windows and only start up the one I need for the game I'm playing. 'don't use them to stay in touch with friends either'
 
The launcher review no one asked for:

Steam, does everything well>Uplay, fine>Battle.Net, new UI is too busy>Origin, functional>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GOG Galaxy, the system hog with no way back after you add integrations and that spends 10 minutes loading up every game if you stupidly think it will replace your other launchers>Rockstar, the glitchy>Epic, the bigger system hog>EA App, doesn't recognize all my games

People who praise GOG do not use Galaxy with any library at all. Galaxy is garbage. I'm guessing you GOG lovers are ignoring their Steam alternative completely.
My launcher review no one asked for:

Steam: Sturdy, well-maintained, reliable platform with a history, lots of games and features (most of them useful, some of them not so much).
GOG: It is what it says: good old games. Plus no DRM. Where you actually do get what you pay for, instead of renting it with a licence for infinite reinstalls.
Origin: Worthless piece of crap that gives me a "memory exception breakpoint" error every time I turn off my PC without quitting Origin first. But I've got a few EA games, so whatevs...
Uplay: Wasted effort. Nice try.
Epic: Exclusive deals and nothing else. You play through our crappy launcher, or wait for a year. I'll wait for a year, thank you very much.
Bethesda Launcher: Did it even exist?

Galaxy IS garbage. But honestly, why would you want a launcher to do anything other than launch games. The whole mod support, and all the other added services are utter nonsense, games/publishers should manage that per game. Them not doing so is what creates this strange situation where the same game can't run launcher agnostic because numerous elements are 'done by Valve' or whatever other party.

See, that is the long and short of platformization. The companies that launch products on them, launch a product that 'looks' the same as it always did, but under the hood they paid others to deliver parts of it for them. So you're not buying 'the product', you're buying in to the platform. And then you're suddenly connected to a platform when all you needed was a product.

So GoG and Galaxy while being not the most optimal solution... are still the ONLY solution that releases products as feature complete things that work independently of the launcher. Realistically that's what you're expecting to get, right, when you click a buy button on any website?

Luckily in the case of Steam all you really need is a dll to circumvent the whole DRM they deploy, which is why every other pirated game is a Steam release, but still. Its not accessible unless you hack. Similarly, on Epic Games Store, their DRM is virtually nonexistant as well, but that stops abruptly when publishers start moving features to the platform, like mod support or the community elements. What we're also seeing is that publishers still deploy their own launcher behind the platform, so its clear they see a similar risk of not having full ownership/control. After all, you don't implement or pay for things twice on purpose.
Launchers didn't come into existence because we needed them, but because publishers wanted to make more money. It's easier to attach a service to a crappy game and charge more than making that game a bit less crappy. As for me, I'd still be perfectly happy with physical discs anno 2022 if they were available - although, it would make patching a bit more difficult, which is a crucial part of gaming nowadays, unfortunately.
 
I'd like to see another platform launcher like Steam, but not directly tied to any developers, like GoG.
GOG isn't an independent service though. They're completely owned by CD Projekt.

So GoG and Galaxy while being not the most optimal solution... are still the ONLY solution that releases products as feature complete things that work independently of the launcher. Realistically that's what you're expecting to get, right, when you click a buy button on any website?
You still need the Galaxy launcher to play multiplayer though.
 
Last edited:
A launcher for all, but independent from all, would be amazing, and also an impossible dream.

Apart from Steam i use Ubi connect and EGS a lot and i honestly have no loyalties and couldn't care less. But i would still prefer to not have to install so many launchers.
 
It goes through cycles. But hate for steam existed for a very long time. Actually, since it's inception.
I think most people have a love-hate relationship with Steam, much like they have a love-hate relationship with Windows.

It's the most popular platform that for the most part works flawlessly but its developers are constantly fettling with it, trying to monetise it and control its users in ways that nobody asked for and almost nobody wants. Shit gets added that gets in the way of its basic purpose and this new shit cannot be disabled or turned off, you just have to tolerate it or find workarounds that are reset back to "shit in your face" every major update. It's masquerading as a flexible, customisable platform but in reality your choices are constantly deleted, overruled, revoked, or reset.

Because the competition isn't really very good competition, they can get away with doing pretty much whatever they want because where else are you going to go? People are too heavily invested in the good parts of the platform to walk away....
 
I take it that Bethesda will offer us refunds for those of us that don't have, and don't want a Steam account?
lol no you still bought the game and played it X number of hours I'm sure. you still own the game, you will now launch it from a different program. seeing how launcher A (Bethesda) is going bye bye, launcher B (Steam) is just a replacement for it.....out with the old, in with new as the saying goes

I don't have much on the Bethesda launcher. I do, however, have some stuff on there which, at least currently, isn't on Steam. Namely some of the old Elder Scrolls games like Arena and Daggerfall. I wonder what will happen to those.
"Any title you own on the Bethesda.net Launcher will be available to you free on Steam" meaning it doesn't need to be already on Steam....if it isn't already, it will be now
 
To be fair, EA had their own client around the time of Steam's launch. It was called EA Download Manager and eventually transformed into Origin. I inherited a lot of games from that because I'd get the keys for cheap from ebay back when EA still made physical discs. The abomination that is the EA App or whatever it's called is the joke. Origin at least knows about all my games. EA App is years in and still hasn't been updated to recognize Mass Effect 2 while it is fine with me owning Mass Effect 1, 3, and Andromeda. Why would you not add all your games first before you turn a service on? The best part is when it says, "Not see all your games? Don't worry. And if you need them, go turn Origin on."

Except you have to choose. Either EA App with Game Pass integration OR Origin. You can't run both simultaneously.

Origin was always good enough for me, though I don't play multiplayer games by EA.

The launcher review no one asked for:

Steam, does everything well>Uplay, fine>Battle.Net, new UI is too busy>Origin, functional>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>GOG Galaxy, the system hog with no way back after you add integrations and that spends 10 minutes loading up every game if you stupidly think it will replace your other launchers>Rockstar, the glitchy>Epic, the bigger system hog>EA App, doesn't recognize all my games

People who praise GOG do not use Galaxy with any library at all. Galaxy is garbage. I'm guessing you GOG lovers are ignoring their Steam alternative completely.
When was the last time you used Galaxy? Before 2.0? I will admit that it wasn't good before 2.0. It works very well since 2.0, and if it is more 'resource intensive' than other clients, it's not by any noticeable amount.

This is coming from someone that has 400+ games on steam(100+ installed), a bunch on epic because of free/endless coupons during sales, and a couple dozen split between all the on the other platforms. It takes no time at all to load a list of all the games I own. It does, of course, take a few seconds to launch a game from another client when that client isn't running, but that should be expected.
 
Good riddance!
That abomination was so bad, they couldn't fix proper scaling on anything higher than 1080p for almost half-a-decade. Even something simple like patching games was a challenge, since in Bethesda's view "patch" was simply redownloading the entire game after every tiny fix. Used to play Quake Champions when it was still relevant, and 30+GB patches forced me to spend $10 on Steam for the cheapest "Scalebearer Edition" just to avoid that nightmare.
The only reason Bethesda Launcher existed is to "flex" on early releases and exclusives. Competition and innovation was never in the picture.
Yep it was awful. As a QC player myself i can confirm that every update meant redownloading the entire game from scratch. It's like they were stuck in the 2000's where no one used delta patches.
I too got QC tranferred to Steam tho i forget the exact process. Also there was some confusion in Steam regarding the achievements. Steam started counting them from 0.

Also compared to Steam BNL was a resource hog. I remember one time running a test and recording the numbers. I deleted this data a few weeks back but one of my old posts still had it:
BNL:
Mem: 814MB
CPU: 15s

17-10-2018, 22:45:06 QuakeChampions.exe benchmark completed, 8710 frames rendered in 73.398 s
Average framerate : 118.6 FPS
Minimum framerate : 100.1 FPS
Maximum framerate : 165.0 FPS
1% low framerate : 91.9 FPS
0.1% low framerate : 34.6 FPS

Steam:
Mem: 318MB
CPU: 6s

17-10-2018, 22:52:29 QuakeChampions.exe benchmark completed, 8640 frames rendered in 72.540 s
Average framerate : 119.1 FPS
Minimum framerate : 103.1 FPS
Maximum framerate : 165.0 FPS
1% low framerate : 91.9 FPS
0.1% low framerate : 36.2 FPS
BNL used about twice as much CPU time and RAM compared to Steam. These numbers dont include the slow startup times of BNL either. Steam launches 3 times faster. Also the performance was a bit lower in terms of fps. What really annoyed me about it tho was the UI lag in BNL. You would think that with the resource usage it would be snappy but it was the opposite. Bafflingly incompetent design.
 
Back
Top