While everyone is talking consoles, what does Bethesda+Xbox mean for Steam and PC ?

[CliveLH]

I noticed that ever since Microsoft announced buying Bethesda, about everyone was talking about consoles exclusives and how it changed everything for PS5 vs Xbox, without much chatter around PC gaming.
When you thinkg about Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Doom or Wolfenstein, they are all prime IP of the PC Gaming ecosystem and now they are gonna land day one on Xbox Game Pass for PC.

So what does this mean for Steam in the long run ?

Me personally, I think Microsoft will continue launch its games on Steam like they did with Flight Sim or Grounded, but even with that, it's bound to move players from Steam to Game Pass right ?

It could also push Microsoft forward into launching Game Pass on Steam, like EA did with EA play.

What do you think Bethesda+Xbox means for PC and Steam in particular ?

 

[Firestorm]

Game Pass doesn't mean games aren't also sold. Microsoft publishes their titles on Steam for purchase. I would think at some point Microsoft would look at putting Game Pass on Steam too but that's not really related to the Zenimax purchase. Game Pass isn't going to stop people from using Steam for things. I use Microsoft Word and I use Google Docs. I use Steam and I use Battle.net. They're just applications.

 

[Imran]

The Steam/Game Pass model is honestly the definition of a win-win for them. They catch people on both ends and it doesn't seem to be hurting sales or subscription numbers.

 

[MrBob]

I'm guessing nothing will change outside of requiring Xbox live login.

 

[denx]

Business as usual. MS will continue releasing their games on Steam, but I think a cut down version of Game Pass being available on Steam is also a possibility.

 

[Rhaknar]

MS just recently got all their shit on Steam so it means nothing. If anything, I bet they eventually just flat out put Gamepass on steam, like EA did with their sub.

 

[Spark]

I think their plan is to siphon gamers away from Steam due to how much better a deal Gamepass is for their products. A few of my friends subscribed for a while when I mentioned they could get Halo MCC for $5/m instead of buying it outright for $60 on Steam.

 

[Rosebud]

Games that are on GP still sell a ton at Steam, I don't think it will change.

Especially for games that rely on mods like Bethesda titles.

 

[Dr. Ludwig]

Business as usual. Their games top the Steam charts every month, no reason to change.

 

[Madjoki]

It means their games won't be Epic exclusive and will come to Steam.

 

[Crayon]

It means their games won't be Epic exclusive and will come to Steam.

Click to shrink...

There we go. Thats the best thing about all this.

 

[JustAnotherOne]

Hopefully it means bethesda.net launcher going away.
While its optional, it just felt so out of place.

 

[Madjoki]

I think their plan is to siphon gamers away from Steam due to how much better a deal Gamepass is for their products. A few of my friends subscribed for a while when I mentioned they could get Halo MCC for $5/m instead of buying it outright for $60 on Steam.

Click to shrink...

Isn't it like 40 and game pass is now 10 a month, with games beign drip fed over a year, it would be cheaper to buy and play at launch of each game than use game pass.

 

[Mentalist]

RIP delayed GOG releases. A shame, I'd have liked to fill out my Doom and Wolf collection, as well as Rage + Rage 2.

Other than that, they won't change. They have a choice of charging a premium for Steam versions, or getting more subs via GamePass. It's clearly win-win, and it lets them avoid any accusations of being "anti-consumer" , b/c they're offering people a real choice- if you really value the steam features so much, vote with your wallet and pay the launch premium.

 

[DrDeckard]

Everything gamepass pc has been coming to steam day one lately, hasn't it?

 

[Deleted member 61469]

Keeping the games out of Steam seems way too risky. Not to mention there would be backlash from the sudden shift. Pretty sure every single game will be on Steam from now on. They have a Halo Infinite Steam page for fucks sake.

 

[Betty]

Business as usual and nothing changes basically.

 

[Kida]

Steam is better than free advertising for Game Pass. I would imagine everything is going to still end up on there day one.

 

[Jon God]

I also sorta worry about if it'll effect mod support on their games. I hope not, their games are sort of reliant on mods to fix issues.

 

[Dogui]

A lot of people on Steam are really really anti-game pass, some of them would strongly support MS (Now Bethesda also) games in the platform to give a message on how selling copies still works well, while at the same time, people on game pass will pay their subscription. MS gets both sides and couldn't be happier about that.

 

[nelsonroyale]

Nothing.

 

[Xando]

MS learned they make way more money when they launch on steam

 

[secretanchitman]

I'm pretty sure Microsoft will continue to release games on Game Pass and Steam - it's literally free money for them to do so.

 

[Hamster Plugin]

The main thing I'm worried about is Microsoft Store gaining more popularity and killing off Steam. MS Store is still a ridiculously restrictive environment with its folder locking and it's going to be extremely shitty for PC gaming if it becomes acceptable. If MS Store takes over as the dominant PC gaming environment, say goodbye to mods that fix bad ports of console games or add additional functionality.

 

[Arklite]

Unless Microsoft decides to return to gating their published games on their own launcher, nothing should change. As big of a news piece as it is, it's essentially non-news for the PC side.

 

[Isee]

I expect the Bethesda launcher to vanish at one point in time.
Other than that: You'll still be able to either rent games via Game Pass or buy them through the Windows Store or Steam.
Which is great and leaves people with options and possibilities.
I see no problem with that.

I just hope we won't see certain franchises being turned into Gaas, like Prey and Dishonored.

 

[Patapuf]

So far, gamepass games seems to have done well on steam. So i don't think there's been a canibalising effect of one towards the other.

Also, the windows store is still iffy with plenty of issues.

Most importantly, modding is restricted. And still wierd issues with downloading/updating games.

 

[Deleted member 15476]

Nothing will change in the short term/mid term. Personally I could see MS pulling off of Steam at some point, but that's far away (if it ever happens tbw)
As far as PC gaming is concerned it's for the most part a neutral announcement.

 

[RoboitoAM]

GamePass for those who want to try games and/or buy them on discount and don't mind the Xbox store. Steam for those who don't want to use GamePass, or know what they want, or just want it in one place.

Microsoft gets money in any scenario.

 

[Imperfected]

It's interesting. Microsoft had very little leverage with Steam because previously their Steam game sales were very low, but Valve still made a hard push for Linux gaming out of concern for Microsoft's control over the Windows environment and especially the hard push Microsoft made during the switch from GFWL to the Windows Store.

Now, they actually have control over a publisher that makes up a significant percentage of Steam's revenue. Does Valve revisit their concerns? I would say probably not; aside from probably not viewing it as an existential threat anymore (it's become very clear that for all the hand-wringing over Microsoft's monopolistic practices and past acquisitions, that they aren't very good at actually exerting control over anything) their recent move to publish first-party games on Steam more frequently is probably enough of a gesture of good will that Valve won't balk.

As for Microsoft making a move... why would they? If they wanted to take another stab at supplanting Steam with the Windows Store or pulling PC exclusives to X-Box, why would they have been moving existing exclusives to PC (and Steam) prior to this acquisition?*

*The answer would be that the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing, which isn't that rare for Microsoft, though I really don't think it's the case. This was a $7.5 billion acquisition, I doubt it happened without a ton of internal discussion and coordination about long-term strategy.

 

[JoJoBae]

It... It means the same it does for Microsoft's other first party releases lately. Xbox + Windows Store/Game Pass + Steam. Probably all on day one. It also means (I FUCKING HOPE) the death of the Bethesda Launcher. Acquisition is worth it for that alone.

 

[Bear and bird]

Microsoft couldn't dominate PC gaming with their PC store, so now they intend to dominate Steam through the sheer might of content.

You'll still be able to buy their games through Steam, Windows Store and maybe a couple of other storefronts as well.

 

[StereoVSN]

Latest moves regarding Steam from MS have been encouraging and I really hope they continue. Its especially pointless for a lot of PC gamers to play Bethesda Software games (Fallout/Elder Scrolls) without mods so no Steam means a fairly significant chunk of folks not getting those franchises.

 

[RedOnePunch]

The Steam/Game Pass model is honestly the definition of a win-win for them. They catch people on both ends and it doesn't seem to be hurting sales or subscription numbers.

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I honestly don't expect their games to come to steam forever. Game pass has to be the ultimate goal. Unless having people on Windows 10 is enough for them, which I'm not sure about.

 

[skeezx]

I don't expect much to change as a Bethesda fan/pc user

Though I'm not the type that gets apoplectic over using certain storefront/launcher

 

[crazillo]

Maybe the Bethesda launcher will go. Nothing else will be different from MS's other publishing efforts.

 

[sheaaaa]

I honestly don't expect their games to come to steam forever. Game pass has to be the ultimate goal. Unless having people on Windows 10 is enough for them, which I'm not sure about.

Click to shrink...

They're having their cake and eating it. People are signing up for Game Pass on PC in droves, while still buying games like Sea of Thieves in crazy numbers.

 

[Rosebud]

I honestly don't expect their games to come to steam forever. Game pass has to be the ultimate goal. Unless having people on Windows 10 is enough for them, which I'm not sure about.

Click to shrink...

Not even AOE made people use the Windows Store

 

[T0kenAussie]

If you want to purchase their games at full price MS will happily take your money too

 

[Imperfected]

It... It means the same it does for Microsoft's other first party releases lately. Xbox + Windows Store/Game Pass + Steam. Probably all on day one. It also means (I FUCKING HOPE) the death of the Bethesda Launcher. Acquisition is worth it for that alone.

Click to shrink...

Haha, yeah. I think one of the most attractive things about Bethesda as an acquisitions target (as publishers go) is that their in-house store had like 0% market penetration, so you aren't losing anything by axing it entirely.

 

[Rosebud]

Bethesda launcher was already dead tbh. Still laugh remembering the "please don't press any buttons" warning.

 

[Bradford]

Microsoft has strong support for Steam for the most part and as others have said Game Pass does not really affect which games hit steam, so I am less than concerned.

 

[Alien Bob]

If they're gonna be more serious about game pass, they're gonna have to be more serious about the way GP games are delivered. Either fix the windows store (fat chance) or have game pass on steam also (no chance).

 

[Uzzy]

Nothing tbh. They'll keep putting out games on Steam as well as offer Game Pass on their own store. I like to think they've finally found a way to put their games on PC that everyone likes, something that eluded them for many years, so why rock the boat.

 

[Mukrab]

it means everything will release on steam day and date,just like it already is for microsoft games.

 

[kirby_fox]

I think we could see eventual timed exclusives to Microsoft's store and Game Pass, with a later Steam release. It'd be a clear marketing strategy to get people to try out Game Pass by offering a free 1 week trial on a certain game you would replay, only to release it on Steam after that week is over. People would either buy Game Pass or buy it on Steam.

Otherwise, I don't see much else changing.

 

[Damn Silly]

I expect the Bethesda launcher probably gets yeeted

Other than that, not much. Maybe MS try to do Game Pass through Steam

 

[dsk1210]

Until they improve their store exponentially I certainly would not be buying the games from the windows store.

I have only bought the Forza games from the store and had problems with installing all of them. I used Game pass for a month for Flight Simulator and that was a headache as well.

 

[Deluxera]

If you compare paying 15€/month to get all these games against paying 70€ a piece on Steam, it's a done deal.

Microsoft could really make a dent into Steam's current dominant position. Valve is probably the one most shaken by yesterday's news.

 

[Dr. Ludwig]

If you compare paying 15€/month to get all these games against paying 70€ a piece on Steam, it's a done deal.

Microsoft could really make a dent into Steam's current dominant position. Valve is probably the one most shaken by yesterday's news.

Click to shrink...

Microsoft's own games on Steam have been doing incredibly well, topping charts every month. People have no problem buying on Steam due to the sheer value the platform brings.