(Image credit: Bethesda Game Studios)
Starfield, the long-awaited new IP from Bethesda Game Studios, is coming to Xbox and PC later this year and it looks set to take us on an epic sci-fi adventure.
Starfield details remain pretty thin on the ground at the moment but thanks to a few brief teaser trailers and some concept art we do at least finally have some feel for what the game is going to be like visually. Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years, the single-player RPG will take players into the future and outer space allowing them, according to studio boss Todd Howard, to take part in an epic about “hope and humanity” that he’s described as being “like Skyrim in space”.
With its November 2022 release date, it’s still a while before we’ll get our hands on Starfield. That wait hasn’t stopped us from boarding the Starfield hype train with a first-class ticket. There’s nothing more exciting than whetting your appetite for a new game by future-gazing (or star gazing in this case). So, in that spirit, we’ve searched the galaxy to bring you the latest news and rumors on Starfield. Here’s everything you need to know.
[Update: Bethesda is aiming for a NASA-Punk aesthetic in Starfield. Keep reading to find out more.]
- What is it? A single-player RPG in outer space from the makers of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls
- What can I play it on? PC and Xbox Series X, headed to Xbox Game Pass on the day of its release. It will be a console exclusive on Xbox systems
- When can I play it? November 11, 2022
STARFIELD RELEASE DATE
At E3 2021, Bethesda confirmed Starfield will release on November 11, 2022 – so we still have a good few months to wait. In an interview with the Washington Post, Todd Howard said the studio is “confident in the date”.
What’s perhaps even more interesting is that it’s now looking to be an Xbox / PC exclusive, with the trailer and Xbox spokespeople making no mention of a PS5 release. With Microsoft now owners of developer Bethesda, this could be indicative of the future of titles like The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5 going forward.
STARFIELD TRAILERS
The Endless Pursuit
In this behind the scenes video Game Director Todd Howard, Studio Director Angela Browder and Art Director Matt Carofano discuss Bethesda’s vision of the future with Starfield.
Howard discusses “step-out moments” in the Fallout games, where a character emerges into a world that’s been irrevocably changed by nuclear war, and cryptically says that Starfield will have “two step-out moments”. Carofano, meanwhile, reveals that Starfield will have a “realistic science-based backing” and calls it a “more grounded game and grounded setting” than the likes of Skyrim.
The backstory
In October 2021, Bethesda released a video giving an overview of Starfield’s overall setting, known as ‘The Settled Systems’.
Narrated by Bethesda Game Studios Design Director Emil Pagliarulo, the video explains that Starfield will transport players to the Settled Systems in the year 2330. The Settled Systems are located in “a relatively small pocket of the Milky Way, in an area that extends outward from our Solar System for approximately 50 light-years.” It also gives some details on the game’s two largest factions, the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective, who were engaged in a “bloody colony war” before the game begins but have developed an unsteady peace.
Location teasers
In August 2021, Bethesda revealed three brief videos which give an overview of cities that will feature in Starfield. The three locations are pretty distinct, comprising the metropolitan capital of the United Colonies, New Atlantis; the freedom-driven capital of the Freestar Collective, Akila; and the vice-drenched pleasure city, Neon.
Each video (all below) gives a description of the locations and a look at some of the concept art, offering a good sense of the overall atmosphere you can expect.
Teaser trailer
The first proper Starfield trailer was revealed at E3 2021, showing off Bethesda’s more realistic approach to sci-fi than the likes of Outer Worlds or No Man’s Sky:
We’re shown a very NASA-like astronaut exploring the rocky surface of a Moon-like location, complete with a blue-sky atmosphere, preparing for take-off. We’re shown drones, a cool mech-like buddy robot, and the promise of uncovering the “key to unlocking everything.”
Into the Starfield
E3 2021 also brought a more behind-the-scenes style video for Starfield called Into the Starfield. In this clip that’s just under 2 minutes, Bethesda gives an overview of Starfield and what it’s aiming to achieve with the game.
Announcement teaser
Other than that, we previously saw our first glimpse of the game during E3 2018 where we got little more than a title, a setting and a glimpse of an unnamed planet, a floating satellite or space station, and some sort of… glowing wormhole?
Check out the teaser trailer below:
STARFIELD GAMEPLAY, NEWS AND RUMORS
NASA-Punk aesthetic
Bethesda has a particular look in mind when it comes to Starfield and that look is “NASA-Punk”.
As described by the game’s lead artist, Istvan Pely, in a recent Xbox newswire post, NASA-Punk is a term coined by Starfield’s development team “to describe a sci-fi universe that’s a little more grounded and relatable”. Pely explains the team “wanted a very realistic take,” adding, “You can draw a line from current-day space technology and extrapolate from there into the future so it’s believable and relatable.”
The game’s lead animator, Rick Vicens, explains that the term proved to be incredibly useful when creating an aesthetically consistent world. “What’s really interesting is how much we all latched onto that concept,“ Vicens says.
”When you said NASA-Punk, the Art team could instantly take those two words and make them work. It was just the perfect term for our art direction and keeping everyone in the same flow and working with a consistent style. For me, it just clicked. At the start of the project, I think that term was critical for us.”
Phil Spencer wants it to be played more than Skyrim
Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said he wants Starfield to be the “most-played” Bethesda game ever. Speaking to Axios Gaming’s Stephen Totilo, Spencer emphasised player counts and how services like Xbox Game Pass help with getting games into the hands of more players.
“You can see it with Forza and Halo, the last releases,” Spencer said. “Those are the most played games in those franchises because we made them available on more screens than we ever have, through more business models than we’ve ever made them available”.
“I love the Forza 5 and Halo stats…I love how many people played Psychonauts 2 vs. Psychonauts 1.
“So, when I look at the teams, when Todd and I talk about Starfield, it’s: ‘How do we make sure this is the most-played Todd Howard game ever?’”
Spencer to me: “I love the Forza 5 and Halo stats…I love how many people played Psychonauts 2 vs. Psychonauts 1. “So, when I look at the teams, when Todd and I talk about Starfield, it’s: ‘How do we make sure this is the most-played Todd Howard game ever?'”February 8, 2022
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