When people think of developer Bethesda Game Studios, it’s likely that one of two franchises comes to mind: Fallout or The Elder Scrolls.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim has been massively popular since its launch in November 2011, having been ported to many platforms (including the Nintendo Switch). Meanwhile, while the latest entry in the Fallout series (Fallout 76) was something of a disappointment at launch, and one of the first Bethesda games not to be well received by the critics, it was still played by millions of players who enjoyed its post-apocalyptic multiplayer world.
And now Bethesda is currently working on its latest game Starfield, which the company is calling a “next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars”.
A release date for the game was finally revealed at this year’s E3, three years after game director Todd Howard took to the stage at E3 2018 and announced the game to an eager gaming public.
“We invite you to join Constellation, the last group of space explorers. It’s a next-generation role-playing game where you’ll be who you want, go where you want, experience our stories and forge your own… More than that, Starfield is about hope, our shared humanity and searching for the answers to life’s greatest mystery”, said the Bethesda man of the game (via Forbes).
From this follows that this will play like previous Bethesda RPGs such as Skyrim and Fallout 4, but with a space setting. There are likely to be plenty of quests to embark on in the game’s universe, both part of the main story and side content peripheral to the main quest as is typical in Bethesda games. Also, No Man’s Sky-style exploration is to be expected given the game’s galactic setting as Forbes points out.
Starfield is also likely to look very good judging by the E3 trailer below, which sadly doesn’t show any gameplay but gives an idea of what to expect from the game’s sci-fi setting.
The art style does remind me a bit of Fallout 4’s, but while that game was criticized for not looking as good as some expected (especially in its showing at E3 2015), being a next-generation RPG Starfield is expected to make the most of the Xbox Series X (and S), as well as the latest PC hardware when it ships on November 11, 2022, exactly ten years after Bethesda released The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
Another detail revealed by Bethesda during the Xbox presentation at E3 (which was all-digital this year) is the fact that, as some industry insiders had already mentioned, is that the game will be an Xbox exclusive.
So no Starfield on PS5 then, not even a mention by Bethesda of this being a timed exclusive. It’s clear that Microsoft, which now owns Bethesda, wants to start making the most of its $7.5 billion purchase of the publisher and its parent company Zenimax by depriving its rival Sony of a big game like Starfield.
Of course, Starfield is also coming to PC and will be available on Game Pass (Microsoft’s subscription service for video games) on day one, meaning PlayStation gamers who want to play Bethesda’s upcoming game will have to get hold of either and Xbox Series X or S console, or a gaming PC in order to enjoy the next-gen RPG when it launches next year.