Image: Bethesda Game Studios
Bethesda has finally announced a release date for Starfield, along with an upcoming Xbox-Bethesda games showcase.
Bethesda Game Studios has announced a new release date for its open-world sci-fi RPG Starfield after a recent delay: September 6, 2023. The game was originally set for launch on November 11, 2022, but was then delayed so the developers could have more time to polish things up.
Here’s the release date announcement video:
Starfield is Bethesda’s first new IP in a very long time, following the open-world RPG formula the developer has become beloved for after putting out games like Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Starfield is a step up from these games in sheer ambition however, giving players not just entire open worlds to explore, but whole star systems consisting of more than a thousand planets to discover and inhabit.
Picture No Man’s Sky, but with more of an emphasis on story - that’s Starfield. The game is set in a realm called the Settled Systems in the year 2330, following a war between two factions that ravaged the galaxy. In a time of uneasy peace, a group of space explorers called the Constellation set out to find new worlds and chart unseen corners of the galaxy. You’re one of these explorers.
Alongside the typical hallmarks of a Bethesda RPG like character creation and impactful dialogue choices, players will also be able to design and fly their own spaceships and build entire bases on the planets they discover. They’ll also be able to put the NPCs they bump into during their adventures in charge of these bases scattered across the Settled Systems, if they choose to build that many in the first place.
Game director Todd Howard says in the video, “There’s so much we still have to show you. This game has many of the hallmarks that you’d expect from us, but it’s also a very unique experience.” He calls the game, “large,” and says that the team, “poured ourselves into the game, and even I’m surprised how much we can pour.”
This is a big game, but Howard assures viewers that we haven’t seen the half of it. An Xbox Games Showcase will be held on June 11 to preview upcoming games coming to the Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, after which a separate ‘Starfield Direct’ will be held. In the Starfield Direct, Todd Howard and more developers from Bethesda will take viewers behind the scenes at their games studio, and show off new, previously-unseen footage from the game.
Starfield will launch on the Xbox Series X|S and PC on September 6, 2023, and will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on the same day.