Well, Bethesda's proprietary launch is dead. Okay, not yet dead, but
definitely on its last legs. According to the company, the launcher
will be shut down 'some time in May'.* Don't worry if you have games
there, though; they'll all be transferred over to Steam starting in
April.

This doesn't affect me in the least; I never even bothered to install
their launcher, much less create a Bethesda-specific account. In fact,
their launcher actually prevented me from buying and playing some of
their newer games ("Rage 2" and "Wolfenstein: Youngblood" just because
I found the need for yet-another-launcher so annoying. All the more so
since Bethesda is such a small company; I could - with distaste -
stomach EA's 'Origin' and Ubisoft's 'UPlay' clients because at least
their software is supported by hundreds of games. But Bethesda's
Launcher had only a handful. It was as pointless and self-serving as
Rockstar's 'Social Club' software. Good riddance to it, as far as I'm
concerned.

It's death isn't really that surprising either; after the Microsoft
acquisition, it was only a matter of time. The only real shocker is
that the game licenses were transferred over to Steam instead of to
Microsoft's own app-store. Well, I suppose even Microsoft has to
acknowledge Valve's prominence in the market (it probably didn't hurt
that many of those games were purchased through Steam to begin with).

Still, now that they've cleared the road, I can imagine Microsoft
starts more heavily promoting future Bethesda games on their app store
or Gamepass subscription service. Microsoft probably won't go
exclusive - yet! - but maybe Elder Scroll 6 or Fallout 5 gets a later
release date on Steam? Quite possible.

If you do use the Bethesda launcher for games, there shouldn't be any
interaction necessary on your part (well, so long as you have an
associated Steam account); the license transfers should happen
automatically. There may be some issues with save-games but otherwise
it should be hands-off. And if you don't use the Bethesda launcher,
well, it's even more hands-off. ;-)

----------------------------------
* announcement here:
https://bethesda.net/en/article/2RXxG1y000NWupPalzLblG/sunsetting-the-bethesda-net-launcher-and-migrating-to-steam

>If you do use the Bethesda launcher for games, there shouldn't be any
>interaction necessary on your part (well, so long as you have an
>associated Steam account); the license transfers should happen
>automatically.

If you do have the launcher installed, go into account management and
verify there's a steam account linked.

rms

rms <rsquiresMOO@mooflashmoo.net> wrote:
> >If you do use the Bethesda launcher for games, there shouldn't be any
> >interaction necessary on your part (well, so long as you have an
> >associated Steam account); the license transfers should happen
> >automatically.

> If you do have the launcher installed, go into account management and
> verify there's a steam account linked.

I'll do that when I migrate my games over. Also, I only had this launcher
because of free Quake games from years ago.

Oh, and I hate these linked accounts!
--
GG, Beijing, but Bing Dwen Dewn is :(. Winter & slammy times again even on holidays. D:
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On Tue, 22 Feb 2022 17:58:32 -0700, PW
<iamnotusingonewithAgent@notinuse.com> wrote:

>Never heard of it!

I heard of it but completely forgot it was even a thing until Spalls
posted about it today.

On Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:07:06 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>Well, Bethesda's proprietary launch is dead.

Used to use it to play Fallout Shelter. I'm amazed it lasted this long.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

> If you do have the launcher installed, go into account management and
> verify there's a steam account linked.

Also there are Doom Eternal skins on Amazon Gaming currently, so you'd
want that account linked also.

rms

rms <rsquiresMOO@mooflashmoo.net> wrote:
> > If you do have the launcher installed, go into account management and
> > verify there's a steam account linked.

> Also there are Doom Eternal skins on Amazon Gaming currently, so you'd
> want that account linked also.

Isn't that subscription based? I don't subscribe to Amazon.
--
GG, Beijing, but Bing Dwen Dewn is :(. Winter & slammy times again even on holidays. D:
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )

On 23/02/2022 19:24, Ant wrote:
> rms <rsquiresMOO@mooflashmoo.net> wrote:
>>> If you do have the launcher installed, go into account management and
>>> verify there's a steam account linked.
>
>> Also there are Doom Eternal skins on Amazon Gaming currently, so you'd
>> want that account linked also.
>
> Isn't that subscription based? I don't subscribe to Amazon.

Yep, it's part of Amazon Prime although I've had it for so long I kinda
consider the games part as basically free.

On Wed, 23 Feb 2022 13:24:04 -0600, ant@zimage.comANT (Ant) wrote:
>rms <rsquiresMOO@mooflashmoo.net> wrote:

>> > If you do have the launcher installed, go into account management and
>> > verify there's a steam account linked.

>> Also there are Doom Eternal skins on Amazon Gaming currently, so you'd
>> want that account linked also.

>Isn't that subscription based? I don't subscribe to Amazon.

I think (but I could be very wrong, or at least be basing this on
outdated information) that a lot of the freebies - the DLC packs and
skins - are offered to anyone who links their Twitch account to an
Amazon account. It's only the free /games/ that require a paid Amazon
Prime account.

Corrections gratefully accepted if I'm misguided, but otherwise it's
worth a look if you like getting free skins, etc. There's a lot of
that crap offered each month for a wide variety of games. Myself, I
tend to ignore it all because I find the entire cosmetic/loot industry
to be so noxious that I want nothing to do with it, even if it would
benefit me with a free hat. ;-)

On Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:07:06 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>Rage 2

I actually got this for free on Epic and checked. No Bethesda launcher.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

On Thu, 24 Feb 2022 12:13:34 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
wrote:
>On Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:07:06 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
>Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>>Rage 2

>I actually got this for free on Epic and checked. No Bethesda launcher.

The Steam page lists having a Bethesda account as one of its
requirements, which I took to mean as requiring the launcher. Perhaps
I was mistaken. Whether I was correct or not, their launcher cost them
that sale.

Mind you, "Doom Eternal" also wanted to install the launcher, but it
ran just fine without it if I aborted the launcher's install and
double-clicked the game's executable directly. Still, I avoided "Rage
2" because I didn't want to actively buy a game that used the Bethesda
launcher ("Doom Eternal" came included as part of a bundle that
included more interesting games. Had I not been able to bypass the
launcher, I wouldn't have played it).

Admittedly, there was no particular reason for me to single out
Bethesda's launcher over any of the others (although reports are that
it was up to Bethesda's usual programming standards, which is to say
it was a buggy mess). After all, I already have Steam, GOG Galaxy,
Itch.Io, Ubisoft UPlay, EA's Origin, and God-knows what other clients
installed on my computer. But I wasn't happy to use any of them, and
the Bethesda launcher was just the straw that fatally overburdened the
proverbial dromedary. It could just as well have been Rockstar's
Social Club or PUBG's launcher or any other. Bethesda's launcher just
happened to be my line in the sand: so far and no further. If that
meant a boycott of future Bethesda games, well, that was a price I was
willing to pay.

Fortunately - if for the moment - Bethesda né Microsoft - has made it
all a non-issue, so I can buy their games again, if I want. Although
given that they're hawking games like "Fallout 76 and "Wolfenstein:
Youngblood" and "Yet Another Re-Release Of Skyrim", I'm still not
likely to buy anytime soon. ;-)

On Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:17:11 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

>On Thu, 24 Feb 2022 12:13:34 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
>wrote:
>>On Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:07:06 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
>>Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
>
>>>Rage 2
>
>>I actually got this for free on Epic and checked. No Bethesda launcher.
>
>The Steam page lists having a Bethesda account as one of its
>requirements, which I took to mean as requiring the launcher. Perhaps
>I was mistaken. Whether I was correct or not, their launcher cost them
>that sale.

I don't doubt you there, Spalls. I just wanted to see what Epic was going
to do about it if authentication was going over to Steam accounts as you
suggested.

Turns out either you were mildly wrong, or Epic has their own deal with
Bethesda that cuts out the nonsense.

I'm just happy my copy of Rage 2 still works. It's something on my
backlog that I actually might play. I really enjoyed the original.

--
Zag

No one ever said on their deathbed, 'Gee, I wish I had
spent more time alone with my computer.' ~Dan(i) Bunten

Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com> wrote:
> On Thu, 24 Feb 2022 14:17:11 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

> >On Thu, 24 Feb 2022 12:13:34 -0600, Zaghadka <zaghadka@hotmail.com>
> >wrote:
> >>On Tue, 22 Feb 2022 15:07:06 -0500, in comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action,
> >>Spalls Hurgenson wrote:
> >
> >>>Rage 2
> >
> >>I actually got this for free on Epic and checked. No Bethesda launcher.
> >
> >The Steam page lists having a Bethesda account as one of its
> >requirements, which I took to mean as requiring the launcher. Perhaps
> >I was mistaken. Whether I was correct or not, their launcher cost them
> >that sale.

> I don't doubt you there, Spalls. I just wanted to see what Epic was going
> to do about it if authentication was going over to Steam accounts as you
> suggested.

> Turns out either you were mildly wrong, or Epic has their own deal with
> Bethesda that cuts out the nonsense.

> I'm just happy my copy of Rage 2 still works. It's something on my
> backlog that I actually might play. I really enjoyed the original.

I really like having another launcher inside Steam like Frontier's Elite
Dangerous with its own account. :(
--
Wars, winter, and slammy times again. :(
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )