As the Starfield release clock advances inexorably towards September, Bethesda’s open-world space RPG begins to emerge from the nebulous ether. Since the game’s 2018 announcement, teases and pledges have kept fans on tenterhooks. The recent Starfield Direct, a component of the summer showcases, unveiled a cornucopia of fresh information that intensified the anticipation. Bethesda, launching its first completely original series in over two decades, has undoubtedly stirred up a stellar frenzy for Starfield. Here’s a round-up of what we currently know about the game.
Release Date and Pricing
The countdown ends on September 6, 2023, the slated release date for Starfield. Initially intended for a November 11, 2022 release, Bethesda pushed back the date in May 2022 to meet the ambitious goals of their teams at Arkane Austin (Redfall) and Bethesda Game Studios (Starfield). The game was rescheduled for the first half of 2023 before the final September announcement came with a splash of intriguing details via the Starfield release date trailer.
The price tag on Starfield aligns with the rising standard set by Sony, Activision, and Microsoft, fixing the cost at $70 USD. The silver lining for gamers is Microsoft’s commitment to making its AAA releases available on Xbox Game Pass from launch day. Hence, Starfield is confirmed to be a day-one addition to the Game Pass.
Gameplay Insights and Features
The 2023 Xbox & Bethesda showcase concluded with a Starfield Direct where Todd Howard shared a plethora of insights. From weaponry and ship building to NPCs, perks, and enemies, everything bore the unique Bethesda stamp, inviting fans to delve deep into the features on offer.
Elaborating on the gameplay reveal from the previous year, Bethesda showcased more of each system. Players can design their ships, adjust their characters’ appearances to intricate details, and choose skills and traits for alien mind control. [Watch all the Starfield trailers from E3 2021 onwards here](#).
The game allows players to customize their spacecraft, reflecting their personality and taste in its layout, look, and performance. A similar crafting system is available for modifying space firearms. The 2022 gameplay reveal demonstrated the character creation aspect, and 2023 saw an in-depth exploration of this feature.
Players can define their character’s history by choosing a background such as a combat medic, bouncer, professor, or homesteader, each associated with specific starting skills. These options cover Bethesda RPG staples such as medicine, lasers, persuasion, and bargaining.
For those curious about multiplayer, Starfield has no such provisions. Bethesda has no plans to develop PvP or co-op features for Starfield, which aligns with the company’s historical game development patterns, with the exceptions of Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online.
The Extent of the Universe
According to Todd Howard’s revelation in the gameplay reveal, Starfield’s galaxy boasts over 1,000 explorable planets. Achieved through a combination of procedural generation and hand-crafted content, players can land and explore each planet on foot.
Todd Howard has also shared several titbits about the major Starfield locations. He described Starfield’s ship combat to have a slower pace, akin to games like FTL and MechWarrior series. Howard confirmed that the game will include more handcrafted content than any other Bethesda game. The game will also feature a complete Japanese localization with over 150,000 lines of dialogue.
From the perspective of gameplay, Starfield will be playable both in first and third-person perspectives. Starfield will be “like Skyrim in space”, where players can be who they want to be, join different factions, and carve their own path.
Addressing the question of whether Starfield is a hard science fiction game, Howard said it is “hard to us,” but fun in play takes precedence over scientific accuracy. Little is known about Creation Engine 2, or how it compares to Bethesda’s previous engine used in games from Skyrim to Fallout 76.
One thing is certain: Like Bethesda’s previous single player RPGs, Starfield will be moddable. This fascinating space adventure offers much for fans to look forward to, and the countdown continues!