Bethesda is spacebound for its next game, as it leaves behind the terrestrial fantasy lands of Fallout and The Elder Scrolls for its first new intellectual property in 25 years. A sci-fi adventure in which you'll explore the cosmos, lend a helping hand to strangers, or possibly be a bigger nuisance than marauding space-pirates, Starfield is one of the biggest upcoming games of 2023. Bethesda has slowly been revealing more about Starfield over the last couple of months, and with all of that information gathered up, we're taking a look at everything that we know about the game so far, including when it releases.

Starfield is confirmed to release on Xbox Series X|S and PC, thanks to Microsoft's recent acquisition of Bethesda. Game director Todd Howard said being able to focus exclusively on Xbox and PC is in the best interests of Starfield. However, he definitely hears and feels for PlayStation owners who won't be able to play it.
Some portion of the Bethesda fanbase continues to believe that Starfield could release on PlayStation, but that seems unlikely given that Microsoft now owns Bethesda. More recently, Howard talked about how he is feeling a new kind of pressure to deliver with Starfield because it’s a first-party game meant to help sell consoles and drive adoption to Xbox Game Pass. “We've never been kind of the platform seller, you know 'the game' for a platform for a period of time," Howard said. "And so, there is a lot of pressure, there's a lot of responsibility there to make sure we deliver for everybody."

Official Teaser:


Official Gameplay Reveal:


While Starfield was originally scheduled to release on November 11, 2022--the same day The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim did back in 2011--the game has since been delayed several more times. It was scheduled to come out sometime during the first half of 2023, but Starfield's current release date has now been set for September 6, 2023. Microsoft is delivering a one-two punch of news on June 11, as right after the Xbox Games Showcase, you can stay seated for a dedicated Starfield Direct livestream. "To dedicate the proper amount of time for a deep dive into Bethesda Game Studios' Starfield, a standalone show is in the works," Microsoft said back in January.

Bethesda is known for its expansive open-world RPGs, like The Elder Scrolls series and the Fallout series. However, both series' massive worlds pale in comparison to the universe we'll be exploring in Starfield. During June 2022's Xbox-Bethesda Games Showcase, Howard confirmed players will be able to visit "over 1,000 planets" throughout the game. While a handful of these locations are full-fledged cities, like the hub city of New Atlantis, many will be procedurally generated and ripe for exploration. Others, such as the desert moon of Kreet, lie somewhere in the middle, with outposts occupied by treacherous space bandits.
According to Howard, Starfield is also more of a "hardcore RPG" than Bethesda's previous work, something made very clear in our first look at Starfield's character creator. While the physical aspect of the game's character creation is pretty par for the course (though Todd Howard confirmed during a Reddit AMA that players will be able to select their own pronouns), the wide variety of backgrounds and traits players are able to choose from is impressive. Based on your choices, your character will have their own unique set of talents and flaws that can make your intergalactic adventure truly your own.

Official Screenshots:


Story so Far:
While we might not know just what Starfield's main campaign entails, thanks to the recent Xbox-Bethesda Games Showcase, we do have a lot more information regarding its setting. Based on Starfield's first gameplay trailer, the game will be set in the year 2330, long after man conquered the stars. In fact, humans are so well-adapted to space travel, they've managed to settle a whopping 50-light year radius around their own solar system. This area is referred to as the "settled systems." While you'll be able to explore seemingly every nook and cranny of these systems, the main hub of Starfield is New Atlantis, capital city of the United Colonies and home to Constellation, "the last group of space explorers." Starfield begins with your character, the Spacefarer, receiving an invitation to join this organization. However, the United Colonies aren't the only space-faring society. There is also the Freestar Collective, who call Akila City their home. While these two factions are no longer at war with one another, the end of their conflict is still fresh, and their peace, an uneasy one. In addition to the United Colonies and Freestar Collective, there are also a few other notable groups Bethesda has mentioned: Ryujin Industries, the Crimson Fleet, and House Va'Ruun. As you might be able to infer based on their names, Ryujin Industries is a mega corporation, the Crimson Fleet is a band of space pirates, and House Va'Ruun is, well, a religious cult, to put it bluntly. Based on the game's intense focus on role-playing, it seems safe to say you'll be able to join up and/or get in all sorts of trouble with these folks. During 2021's Tokyo Game Show, Howard revealed that Starfield has more than 150,000 lines of dialogue--which is more than any Bethesda game before it. While your character is not voiced, it seems like just about everyone else is, making for a very immersive experience. We should also mention that companion characters make a return in Starfield, with VASCO the utility robot confirmed as one of them. Last but not certainly least, Howard also announced the main campaign should take around 30-40 hours to complete. To put that into perspective, Fallout 4's main campaign takes around 30 to beat, while Skyrim takes about 25.

Source From: GameSpot.com