Starfield: Release Date, Platforms, Gameplay

Bethesda is a studio that has found massive success with huge single-player RPGs like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. Even though the studio's recent stumbles with games like Fallout 76 (and, to a lesser extent, Fallout 4) have disappointed players, the studio keeps moving forward, and there are some ambitious projects on the horizon. One such project is Starfield, a game first announced during Bethesda's 2018 E3 presentation.

Following Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda, rumors about Starfield's release picked up, and now that we've gotten a look at the game's gameplay, we know a lot more about the project. Even after a roughly six-month delay, excitement for Starfield doesn't seem to have cooled off. We've gathered as much information as we could to bring you everything we know about Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG, Starfield. Everything you need to know about when Starfield is releasing, what platforms it'll be on, and its gameplay and pre-order is in this article.

When Is the Starfield Release Date?

As part of the recent Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase 2022, Microsoft reiterated that Starfield would release by summer 2023. Bethesda's Latin America Instagram account recently commented on a teaser post for the game and told a follower that a more specific launch date should be announced.

Starfield was gearing up for launch on November 11, 2022, eleven years after the original release of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. However, on May 12, 2022, Bethesda announced it had been delayed to "the first half of 2023."

There's been debate over whether Bethesda originally planned to ship Starfield much earlier, possibly in 2020 or 2021. If the company was planning to ship Starfield in 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic likely slowed production and pushed it back further. After the lukewarm reception to Fallout 76 in 2018, Bethesda likely wants its next game to be as polished and impressive as possible, which takes time.

On top of that, Bethesda doesn't want to mirror the launch of Cyberpunk 2077, a game that released long before it was ready.

Typically, Bethesda has more than one project going at once. We know the company filed a trademark for Starfield back in 2013, which means the studio had been thinking about it for a while before that.

What Platforms Will Starfield Be On?

Starfield will release for Xbox Series X|S and PC.

At this point, it's clear it won't come to PlayStation or Nintendo, since Bethesda is now a first-party Microsoft developer. Ahead of the game's E3 2021 showing, GamesBeat's Jeff Grubb said Starfield was an Xbox exclusive and wouldn't appear on PlayStation. Microsoft confirmed this shortly after.

Whether Starfield would come to Microsoft's previous-generation system, the Xbox One, was uncertain for a while, but following the E3 2021 showing, Bethesda confirmed it would only release for Xbox Series X|S and PC.

Given the scope of the game, it makes sense that it'll only be available on current hardware. We also know Starfield will launch day one on Xbox Game Pass, letting more players enjoy it.

Starfield Gameplay

It was probably surprising to see Bethesda reveal a new game, let alone one set in space. Starfield is a single-player sci-fi RPG and the studio's first new IP in 25 years. The developer tried to make a game set in space back in the '90s, but it ultimately failed and was canceled. Starfield doesn't look like it'll share that fate, since the team has prioritized development and is aiming to bring it to Xbox Series X|S. Right now, this is the studio's main priority, since only a small portion of its developers continue working on Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls VI. Bethesda has four main studios, located in Austin, Dallas, Montreal, and Rockville, Maryland, and all of them are helping out with Starfield.

Speaking of current-gen hardware, the question of whether Starfield will run on a new and improved engine has been on Bethesda fans' minds ever since it was announced. After all, most of the studio's past games were famously buggy and felt outdated even at launch. It's still not clear exactly how Starfield will run overall, but Bethesda has gone on record to confirm it'll use the same engine as Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76, known as the Creation Engine.

Is There a Pre-order for Starfield?

Since the release date is still up in the air, there's no pre-order information available for Starfield right now. We'll keep you updated on when pre-orders become available.