Rage 2 Exclusive to Bethesda Launcher?

Well in this age of Distribution Platform Exclusives it seems Rage 2 might be exclusive to the Bethesda launcher on PC. Yep you heard me possibly no Steam release.

Link - https://www.pcgamesn.com/rage-2/rage-2-steam
Link - https://www.dsogaming.com/news/rage-…esda-launcher/

Everyone’s building their own Steam competitor, and Bethesda is no exception. Rage 2 pre-orders went up last night, but only on the Bethesda.net Store, and the game still doesn’t have a Steam page. You might’ve expected this given that Fallout 76 launched exclusively on the publisher’s client, but now it seems certain Bethesda games going forward won’t be coming to other stores.

You can pre-purchase Rage 2 at the expected price of $59.99 USD. Or you can spend $20 to grab the Deluxe Edition with the Doom BFG, a ‘progress booster,’ and some ‘Wasteland Wizard cheat codes,’ along with an extra mission and a future ‘campaign expansion’ called Rise of the Ghosts. If you want the even more expensive collector’s edition, you’ll need to head to a proper retailer of physical goods.

We’ve reached out to Bethesda for confirmation that Rage 2 will remain exclusive to the company’s launcher, but haven’t gotten a response. But after Fallout 76 came exclusively to the Bethesda launcher, it’s looking like a safe expectation. While Steam’s revenue split seems to have been an effort to entice big games to stay

Well, poo

Add that to my Star Trek boycott. No more TV subscriptions. No more game clients.

A little annoying maybe but not really that big of a deal. If you're going to skip Rage 2 because of this, then I guess you're also going to skip Starfield, TES VI, etc.?

I sure won't be skipping it, because I'll def be wanting to play all of the above no matter what the client, but yeah I still don't like the idea of yet another one.
On my PC I already have Steam, GOG Galaxy (at least that's optional), Epic, UPlay, Origin, Battle.net. So on the one hand it's like "Well, what's one more?"; on the other hand it's like "Enough already!".

I know this walled garden thing works for a lot of developers money wise but for players its an annoyance. A lot of these immature clients take years to iron out and don't have many features compared to Steam.

Every time i see this kind of news, im happy; wont have to spend any money but ill play the game anyway. This client exclusivity bullshit is a cancer.

Originally Posted by JDR13
A little annoying maybe but not really that big of a deal. If you're going to skip Rage 2 because of this, then I guess you're also going to skip Starfield, TES VI, etc.?

Dunno nothing about skipping Skyrim2, all I know I'll wait for Steam sale of probably neverpatched products.

Originally Posted by JDR13
A little annoying maybe but not really that big of a deal. If you're going to skip Rage 2 because of this, then I guess you're also going to skip Starfield, TES VI, etc.?

Yes. I will.

Steam has been a virtual monoply (no pun intended) and its time to break it up. Just like Amazon, its too big to compete against. I don't blame all the companies for switching to their own launcher and having exclusive launches.

Well I do when it's crappy. Epic Store already made articles about suspicious refund policy and it's manual (read: stalling) execution.

Originally Posted by JDR13
A little annoying maybe but not really that big of a deal. If you're going to skip Rage 2 because of this, then I guess you're also going to skip Starfield, TES VI, etc.?

Its more than a bit annoying when it adds 4x the startup time to my SSD ultrabook because of all the combined popups and "an update is available" nonsense. GOG and Steam do that all the time. And these clients all want to run full time in the background. I should look into how to disable them at boot assuming that's possible.

At this point I'd prefer an over arching "channel provider" aka Comcast for game publishers. 1 app client. Same thing for all the streaming content providers. 1 client for Netflix and Prime and whatever else.

I think I have all the games I could ever want on great old games and steam, I haven't touched Origin in years, never used Ubijunk, so I suppose I'll just simply avoid any new platforms that come out. No game is worth that hassle when I can play countless that I already know are excellent.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
all the combined popups and "an update is available" nonsense. GOG and Steam do that all the time. And these clients all want to run full time in the background. I should look into how to disable them at boot assuming that's possible.

Of course it's possible and everyone should disble their autorun on boot. Games shortcuts in menu or desktop will launch the appropriate client so there is no reason to keep those in the background all the time.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
At this point I'd prefer an over arching "channel provider" aka Comcast for game publishers. 1 app client. Same thing for all the streaming content providers. 1 client for Netflix and Prime and whatever else.

This is not a fair comparision. Games clients are free and can be used without buying any game ever and without subscribing to anything.

Originally Posted by Carnifex
haven't touched Origin in years, never used Ubijunk, so I suppose I'll just simply avoid any new platforms that come out. No game is worth that hassle when I can play countless that I already know are excellent.

Have to disagree on this. AC Odyssey is a very good reason to give uPlay a chance (honestly it's not nearly as bad as it was). ME3 is the reason to put up Origin (and uninstall after you finish it). No, ME4 and DA3 are not the reason for Origin - good but not great games thanks to grind.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Its more than a bit annoying when it adds 4x the startup time to my SSD ultrabook because of all the combined popups and "an update is available" nonsense. GOG and Steam do that all the time. And these clients all want to run full time in the background. I should look into how to disable them at boot assuming that's possible.

I think Epic launcher can be turned off once you start the game. Don't know about patching.

Well remember console exclusives well now we have, "PC Distribution Platform Exclusives." It was inevitable from the moment Steam became a monopoly.

Developers/Publishers want a bigger piece of the pie.

It's the same crap happening to paid TV services. Buyers wanted ala carte packages, and now they are more expensive then paying for the big package on cable TV.

Anyway look at the Epic Launcher they pay developers a small cash bonus to release exclusively, and after a while they can release on Steam. A.K.A timed exclusives.

Just take a look at the recent Ashen debacle for one example.

"Right now you can play Ashen on all the hardware we have promised since day one. We know that is not enough for everyone. We will be coming to other platforms in the future. If you must wait for those, we totally understand. We are super proud of the game and hope you will enjoy it whenever and wherever you play it."

Yep. Wasn't super likely I would buy them - well maybe starfield but if they are exclusive to Besthda game store - then no way.
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I rather have them work with steam to compromise on revenue split then deal with another data leaker.
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Btw It appears that epic game convoluted privacy rules don't meet gdpr requirements.

Originally Posted by JDR13
A little annoying maybe but not really that big of a deal. If you're going to skip Rage 2 because of this, then I guess you're also going to skip Starfield, TES VI, etc.?

This does piss me off, although kinda expected. But the way Bethesda has been screwing up lately, and ruining their reputation with one customer service debacle and other blunders - one after another - I shouldn't be surprised.

All I gotta say is Starfield and Elder Scrolls 6 better be mighty impressive, I mean for someone like me who is super picky. I will be watching closely and if I get a whiff of anything that sounds like continuing the trend of dumbing down and removing features, then I won't be bothered with downloading Bethesda's new game platform/launcher.

I'm talking about things like: dumbo dialogue wheels instead of having many proper choices for the dialogue options, removing complexity for the masses, such as removing attributes like strength, wisdom, intelligence, in favor of streamlined simplified garbage, making the game UI consolized and disregarding making a separate interface for the pc market, or concentrating on MMO aspects while neglecting the single player, etc, etc, etc.

Any whiff of that kind of stuff and it will be a "hard pass" from me.

Originally Posted by ToddMcF2002
Its more than a bit annoying when it adds 4x the startup time to my SSD ultrabook because of all the combined popups and "an update is available" nonsense. GOG and Steam do that all the time. And these clients all want to run full time in the background. I should look into how to disable them at boot assuming that's possible.

At this point I'd prefer an over arching "channel provider" aka Comcast for game publishers. 1 app client. Same thing for all the streaming content providers. 1 client for Netflix and Prime and whatever else.

Ill give you the same advice i give family and friends. Take an hour away from gaming a week and educate yourself about your PC.

Not trying to be condescending or rude but as the techy person in my circle I’m bombarded with people complaining what crap clients,games or applications are and 90% of the time when i look at their computers, they are a mess, outdated drivers, bloatware, endless programs they don’t use starting up, some have viruses, using drives that are full, on and on.

Most have nothing to do with the client or game and everything to do with people not learning how to maintain their systems.

Anyway, ill stop preaching. Spend your first hour and google msconfig and fix your startup issues.

Originally Posted by you
-I rather have them work with steam to compromise on revenue split then deal with another data leaker.

Well no shit. I'm pretty sure we'd all prefer that.

However, I won't be denying myself quality games because of it.