Bethesda has confirmed on Twitter that their upcoming games, including Doom Eternal, Rage 2 and Wolfenstein: Youngblood will be releasing on Steam as well as through their own dedicated launcher.
The company also revealed that Fallout 76 will also be making its way onto Steam later this year, having previously only been available on PC through the Bethesda store. However, there’s no release date set yet for Fallout 76 coming to Steam, so it’s unclear if Bethesda will keep hold of the exclusivity for a full year, meaning a release in November, or if they’ll open the game up to Steam sooner in an attempt to attract some new blood into the game.
We’re pleased to announce that RAGE 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Wolfenstein: Cyberpilot, and DOOM Eternal will be released on Steam as well as https://t.co/p0BARqmTBp. We will also be bringing Fallout 76 to Steam later this year.
— Bethesda (@bethesda) 25 March 2019
Prior to Fallout 76, Bethesda had used Steam to release all of their major titles but opted to make the game available on PC solely through their own platform in the hope that the move would be financially better for the studio. Their decision to embrace Steam once again, despite having their own launcher, suggests that moving to exclusive platforms other than Steam can be harmful to sales or at least prove not to be as profitable as expected.
Following Epic Games’ recent acquisition of the exclusivity rights to sell games such as Metro: Exodus and The Outer Worlds only on the Epic Games Store, PC gamers have been fearful that upcoming games they’re looking forward to may also go down the same path.
Both games had previously been listed on Steam, with Metro: Exodus even being available to pre-order up until just two weeks before release. Fans who had been anticipating purchasing the games on Steam were, of course, left disappointed.
Rage 2 is set to release on May 14th, with Wolfenstein: Youngblood also expected to launch at some point this year. As of yet, there is no release date for Doom Eternal.