Upcoming open-world RPG Rage 2 was present at The Game Awards this week, offering up a new trailer and a release date. However, this isn't the only new information about the game that has just been confirmed. Bethesda has also shared details about its launch plans for the title but not all fans are happy about it.

On the Rage 2 pre-order page, Bethesda allows fans to click and buy the game digitally on Xbox One, PS4, or on PC via the Bethesda Launcher. The fact that there is a Bethesda Launcher logo where the Steam logo would be, or even just a generic PC logo, has led fans to believe that the game will be skipping Steam altogether. Bethesda hasn't come out and confirmed the exclusivity, but considering that Fallout 76 also avoided Steam, it seems like a pretty safe bet.

Bethesda's PC-playing fans aren't too happy about this decision, especially considering recent events. Earlier this week, Bethesda's support website suffered a major security breach as those who submitted support tickets discovered that they were able to view other people's support tickets too. These support tickets included personal info (e.g names and addresses) and although the issue was only live for a short time, it has left fans feeling concerned.

This is not the only reason why people are concerned, however. Fallout 76's PC beta was also hosted through the Bethesda Launcher and players found that they were unable to delete the beta unless they purchased the game. No beta for Rage 2 has been confirmed so the exact same issue will not apply. But even so, fans are still concerned that other, equally as frustrating technical problems could occur.

For Bethesda, though, the decision to offer Rage 2 as a Bethesda Launcher exclusive makes good business sense. In particular, it means that it will avoid paying Steam a 30% cut of its revenue - a revenue split that led Epic Games to launch the Epic Games Store. Through the Bethesda Launcher, Bethesda doesn't have to compete with its competitors and it can promote its games as it chooses. However, it remains to be seen if Bethesda will lose out on sales as a result of skipping Steam.

Rage 2 releases on May 14, 2019 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Bethesda.net