Starfield: Release Date, Gameplay, Platforms & Price | Everything We Know So Far

Bethesda are clearly one of the best developers of RPGs in the industry. We wouldn’t have experienced Elder Scrolls or Fallout without their innovative approach. So, needless to say, expectations are incredibly high for Starfield. But will it deliver, or could this be another Cyberpunk 2077 situation? Well, whatever it turns out to be, Xbox are insistent that we stop calling it Skyrim in space...

We don't know enough yet to confirm or deny whether Starfield really is Skyrim in space, or even any good. But, we can provide you with all the key info you need to prepare for launch. You can find the current release window for the game below, as well as the platforms and prices we're currently aware of, and the key plot details that have been revealed so far. Let's begin.

Starfield Release Date

Starfield will be released in the first half of 2023, that's the officially confirmed release window. There's even a theory that the game will be released on March 23, so that the numerical date would be 23.03.23, which would be reminiscent of Skyrim's 11.11.11 release date. But that's purely a fan theory, and in fact we already got another leak recently claiming that Starfield will be in fact delayed again.

According to the newest leak, Starfield won't release in the first half of 2023 anymore, but is still set to release this summer. None of this is confirmed yet, so we just have to wait for the Starfield showcase that should follow shortly after the Xbox Games Showcase on January 25.

Starfield Platforms & Price

Starfield will be released on Xbox Series X/S and PC. It will not be released on the PlayStation, the Switch, or any of the last-gen consoles. This was to be expected though; why would Xbox spend so much buying Bethesda if they didn't want exclusivity?

As was recently confirmed by Microsoft, the price of Starfield and other first-party titles has been raised to $70. But that's for the US market, for the UK and the EU we can infer the price based on the MSRP of another upcoming first-party game: Forza.

Will Starfield Come To Xbox Game Pass?

Starfield will be available on Game Pass as soon as it's released. So if you want the game for "free" ($10/month) you could just get the Game Pass and play via your subscription on either console or PC.

Have you signed up for Microsoft's subscription service? You might be interested in all the other confirmed Game Pass titles for 2023.

Will There Be Different Editions Of Starfield?

Although not officially revealed, Starfield is expected to have both a standard edition and a collector's edition. We suspect that they will release a collector's edition because one keen Redditor found a smartwatch that looks like it will be included in the collector's edition of the game. The watch is made by the same company who made the Pip-Boy for Fallout 4's collector's edition, The Wand Company, and it looks pretty legit:

New images of the watch I found along with draft user manual from Starfield

There might even be an edition that's less expensive than the collector's edition but more expensive than the standard one. This edition would presumably have the base game plus some digital content like the soundtrack, but none of the physical collectibles. We'll update you as soon as we know more.

Starfield Plot & Setting

Starfield is set in the future of our own world, in the year 2330, across thousands of planets known as the "Settled Systems". Twenty years before the events of the game there was a war between the United Colonies, the most powerful military and political faction, and the Freestar Collective, basically freedom fighters.

You start the game in the Constellation, a fairly anodyne faction comprised of explorers and scientists, but you can then choose to join other factions along the way, who will offer you different quests and possible rewards.

Playable Factions In Starfield

We don't have many plot details but we know the game's narrative will be structured and separated along faction lines. You have corporate factions and militaristic factions, as well as some straight-up bad guys. Here are the factions we know about so far:

• Constellation (a group of scientists and explorers committed to answering the eternal question: "what's out there?")
• United Colonies (the most powerful faction, they seem authoritarian but not to an extreme degree)
• Freestar Collective (this is a newly established state that separated from the United Colonies during the Colony War)
• Ryujin Industries (more of a company than a state or movement, all about profit)
• Crimson Fleet (pirates, in space)

We expect there to possibly be even more factions in the game, but that's all we know about so far.

Hopefully more characters like this will appear in Starfield:

Starfield Gameplay Features

The story and quest structure is pure Bethesda, based on what we've seen so far, but the combat looks closer to Destiny than any of their previous games. Obviously you don't have any of the cool abilities you get in Destiny, but without a V. A. T. S. mechanic that's what the combat looks most similar too. Besides combat, there's a detailed character creator and the usual set of skills and traits to upgrade and unlock.

Rather than just describing in text what the gameplay is like, why don't you just watch the gameplay reveal:

It's certainly not the most impressive gameplay we've seen, but it's an RPG, not a shooter, so that's fine.

Please, please bear in mind that you shouldn't get too hyped before launch; one insider has claimed that Starfield could be the "next Cyberpunk"...

Starfield PC System Requirements

If you're going to be getting Starfield on PC rather than Xbox Series X/S then you will need to at least meet the minimum system requirements. Neither the minimum nor recommended specs have been revealed yet, but we can make an educated guess based on similar games releasing this year. Here is our predicted minimum and recommended requirements for Starfield:

Minimum System Requirements

Recommended System Requirements

We will of course update the system requirements once the official information has been made publicly available.

And there you have it, everything you need to know about Starfield. If you want to play Starfield but you're on PlayStation currently, here's a link to buy an Xbox Series S.

There's a lot more than just Starfield coming out this year...