Bethesda has once again delayed Starfield. But this time, the developer has finally announced a release date. The highly anticipated sci-fi RPG is set to launch on September 6, 2023.
The announcement was made on social media where Bethesda shared a brief trailer hyping your upcoming adventure through the stars. It was then followed by a video from game director Todd Howard who confirmed that more details on the game will be revealed in a Starfield Direct presentation on June 11.
“We have poured ourselves into this game and even I’m surprised how much we can pour. It is large. We’re playing the game all the time,” he said.
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. Dubbed by many as "Skyrim in space," it's a role-playing game in which you'll create a character and explore the galaxy on a journey to answer humanity's greatest mystery.
We got our first proper look at Starfield gameplay last summer. The 15-minute reveal showcased many gameplay elements that look familiar to previous Bethesda titles, but Todd Howard teased there are still plenty of surprises in store.
“There’s so much that we still have to show you. The game has many of the hallmarks that you'd expect from us, but it’s also a very unique experience," he teased. We'll have a more in-depth look at this unique experience during the Starfield Direct presentation this June.
Starfield previously had a release window targeted for the first half of 2023, but that always seemed like a stretch -- especially since Bethesda has another game releasing in the next couple of months. Redfall, an open-world co-op FPS from Bethesda's Arcane Austin is launching on May 2. Given that Starfield hadn't had a set release date before then, a release date in the first half of 2023 would mean launching sometime in June. Perhaps Bethesda or Microsoft didn't want to cannibalize the audience for Redfall by releasing what is easily one of 2023's most anticipated games just a few weeks later.
Or maybe Bethesda simply needs more time to polish the game. We wouldn't want a repeat of Fallout 76 after all, another highly anticipated game that launched with so many glitches and bugs that it was nearly unplayable for the first couple of months. With Starfield being Bethesda Game Studios' first new IP in 25 years, there's no doubt the developer wants to make a good first impression. This could easily turn into the developer's next big franchise.