Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax media, there were a few who were hopeful that major upcoming games such as Starfield wouldn’t exclusive to Xbox. Microsoft stated after the acquisition, however, that Bethesda titles would be exclusive to devices with Game Pass, which was confirmed at their E3 show when Starfield and Redfall were both announced only for Xbox Series X/S and PC.
A lot of PlayStation players are frustrated, of course, and Bethesda’s senior vice president of marketing and communication Pete Hines understands those feelings. Speaking recently with GameSpot, Hines said that though Starfield’s Xbox exclusivity has allowed a more focused development cycle for the game at Bethesda Game Studios (echoing similar statements by director Todd Howard), he understands that some are “frustrated” about it.
“You’re not worrying about, ‘How does it work on this box versus how does it work on that box?'” Hines said (transcribed by PC Gamer). “We’re not making it on that box, so it just needs to run as well as possible on this one, [and] on a PC. Narrow focus always helps. When we decided to do a partnership with Sony on Deathloop and that game became exclusive to that platform, that development got more streamlined because we said, ‘PS5 and PC, that’s what we’re focusing on.'”
“I totally understand if you are unhappy or pissed or whatever,” Hines added. “I get it. Those are all real feelings and frustrations,” he said. “How should you deal with that? I haven’t the foggiest idea. I would never presume to say, ‘Here’s how you can make it better and feel better.’
“I don’t know how to allay the fears and concerns of PlayStation 5 fans, other than to say, ‘I’m a PlayStation 5 player as well, and I’ve played games on that console, and there’s games I’m going to continue to play on it. But if you want to play Starfield, [it’s] PC and Xbox. Sorry. All I can really say is, I apologize.”
Starfield launches for Xbox Series X/S and PC on November 11, 2022, and will also be available via Xbox Game Pass for console, PC, and cloud at launch.
