Bethesda no longer providing review copies ahead of launch

Earlier this week, Global Content Lead at Bethesda Softworks Gary Steinman posted to the Bethesda blog that the upcoming Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Dishonored 2 will continue their policy of review copies getting to reviewers one day before launch and afterwards, they will no longer be providing review copies to media, including game outlets such a GameSpot and IGN, and streamers and YouTubers. 

They started their policy of giving review copies a day before launch with the 2016 reboot of DOOM, which garnered a fair share of uneasiness from games media. 

"We sent review copies to arrive the day before launch, which led to speculation about the quality of the game. Since then DOOM has emerged as a critical and commercial hit, and is now one of the highest-rated shooters of the past few years. "  

Seems the new policy worked for them, but with Bethesda there wasn't much doubt. After this new announcement, I've seen a lot of people speculating that Bethesda has suddenly lost confidence in their games. Many gamers are pointing to that as the real reason they've decided to stop sending review copies. I say that's a load of shit.

Bethesda knows they make quality games. They have no reason to believe otherwise, they've  got an outstanding track record. They even go so far as to tell players to wait for reviews. 

"We also understand that some of you want to read reviews before you make your decision, and if that’s the case we encourage you to wait for your favorite reviewers to share their thoughts. "

In an age where most gamers put down $60 before the game is even available via pre-orders, it is almost unimaginable that any developer would actively discourage pre-ordering their game by telling gamers to wait from reviews. 

All in all, I think  this is a brilliant move by Bethesda. There's no way they "don't believe in their games." In fact I believe it's quite the opposite: Bethesda is so sure of the quality of their games, they don't feel they need to give out copies early. Not that they don't value the feedback, but perhaps it doesn't benefit them to have the game shown off early, or maybe it's to make the playing field more even all around. Either way, it's sheer brilliance and I love it.