Bethesda Softworks, publisher of Skyrim, Fallout, Doom, and other sizable video game series, has announced that they will no longer be providing advance review copies of their games to any media outlet any earlier than one day prior to release.

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The publisher released a blog post on their official site earlier today explaining this decision, stating that "While we will continue to work with media, streamers, and YouTubers to support their coverage – both before and after release – we want everyone, including those in the media, to experience our games at the same time." This statement more or less echos how Bethesda handled the launch of Doom earlier this year This all but completely prevents any game reviews from being published in time for players to reference when making their purchasing decisions. As for the hundreds of thousands of players who read pre-launch reviews, Bethesda offered this consolation:"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"The post does seem to indicate that other kinds of pre-launch content, most likely in the form of previews and trailers, would still be "supported," but those looking to read impressions of the finished product will have to wait.

Vincent Ingenito is IGN's foremost fighting game nerd. Follow him on Twitter and help him sort out his Street Fighter 5 character crisis.