Starfield was no doubt one of the top video games to see a release in 2023. Bethesda’s epic space RPG was a success, selling millions of copies, while also being the company’s first major game to launch on Game Pass, after the studio had been acquired by Microsoft back in 2021.
The thing is, despite the fact that plenty of PS5 owners who don’t game on PC would surely love to see the game available on Sony’s top-selling console, the game is not out on PlayStation yet.
Nonetheless, many thought a PS5 version of Starfield was something of an inevitability when Microsoft released Forza Horizon 5 on PS5 last year, becoming one of the console’s best-selling games of 2025. Actually, Xbox also became the top third-party games publisher on Sony’s console last year, also putting out games like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Gears of War Reloaded on Sony’s machine.
Apparently Starfield will also be joining the party and debut on the PS5 in 2026, as per a report by MP1st (via Forbes). According to MP1st’s sources, Starfield will be released on the PS5 this spring, meaning that Bethesda’s space RPG will launch on Sony’s console before late June.
Microsoft had seemingly delayed a PS5 version of Starfield out of 2025 due to weak sales of the game’s expansion Shattered Space, which was also berated by critics (its Metacritic score stands at a paltry 58 at the time of writing).
What’s more, the game will be getting a second expansion and there will also be quality of life updates too… So those who have been holding off on playing Starfield should probably take another look at the game come this spring – as not only will the PS5 version get the expansion and improvements, but also the Xbox and PC versions will obviously.
Actually, on the occasion of Starfield’s second anniversary last year, Bethesda producer Tim Lamb said that his team “has been focused on space gameplay to make the travels there more rewarding. We’re also adding some new game systems and a few other smaller delights”. The company also teased something called “Terran Armada”, which presumably is the name of the game’s second expansion.
However, Lamb’s comments about the game’s space travels are interesting, as getting from one point of the galaxy to another in Starfield was an exercise in frustration sometimes due to the abundance of loading screens, which also broke immersion. Apparently technical improvements to Bethesda’s Creation Engine will allow for a more seamless gameplay experience.
How great will Starfield be on PS5?
As for other improvements to the game’s systems, rumors doing the rounds online suggest the game could get a Cyberpunk 2.0-style overhaul, something which could help Starfield shine on the PS5 this year. But it could just be a more modest update which solves the loading screens issue, improves some things, and adds more quality of life improvements besides those Bethesda has added via patches to the Xbox and PC version already, still leading to a solid PS5 version.
The Cyberpunk comparison is tossed around as that game got massive updates which improved it dramatically when compared to the release version, and maybe Starfield 2.0 will be as dramatic and improvement (or not) when it arrives later this year. The update, though, is real, as one relatively well-known YouTuber now claims to have seen it behind closed doors (as reported on pcgamesn.com), even if according to him Bethesda did not specify a release date for it.
But even if the spring release date mentioned in the MP1st report is not met, Grand Theft Auto 6’s delay means Microsoft will be OK with a summer 2026 launch for Starfield’s major update and PS5 version, but the Redmond company may not want to wait until later (say the fall) to avoid clashing with Rockstar’s game.
What’s clear, though, is that Bethesda will surely love to see Starfield succeed on PS5, as much as Forza Horizon 5’s PS5 version did last year. After all, despite Starfield’s commercial success, the game got lower Metacritic scores than Bethesda’s previous two major RPGs Fallout 4 and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Some fans might even be resentful about Bethesda devoting so much time and resources to Starfield when they could have preferred to get Skyrim’s successor earlier, with a new Elder Scrolls game unlikely before 2027.
Nonetheless, if Starfield’s PS5 version is truly great (and the update is also great on PC and Xbox) and is accompanied by a fabulous expansion that makes people forget about the disappointment that Shattered Space was, then gamers will have something to keep them happy until the next major game from the Maryland company hits the shelves.