Whether Bethesda Game Studios’ Starfield appears at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase or not, development has been progressing since its delay. Game director and executive producer Todd Howard revealed in media briefing to GamesRadar that the team is on the game. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer added that Starfield will be a “hallmark” of the ZeniMax Media acquisition.
“Starfield for me is a unique opportunity. Todd Howard has been a friend for an awful long time, and the fact that Bethesda Game Studios is working on a new IP, which has been a long time [coming]… This will be a hallmark for us – in terms of the acquisition of ZeniMax, getting to work with Todd, and bringing this game to market,” says Spencer.
“I’ve seen a lot of this game, people are going to see more of it, and I love setting the goal of: Let’s get more players for this game than in any other game.”
Howard also called this an “incredible opportunity.” “Players out there can experience what we’re creating and get it to more people around the world, and in so many different ways than really we ever have before.” He also expressed excitement about “being able to do something that really takes advantage of Xbox – on the machines themselves, with Series S and X, as well as knowing that anyone who is going to play the game can play it on PC, or xCloud, or whatever screens they’re on.
“Our ability to transport people, to put them in new worlds where they can have experiences that – for the moment that you’re in them – they feel real for what they are, and the emotions you have. We’ve seen that with our other franchises like the Elder Scrolls, Skyrim, and the Fallout Series. We’re working really closely with Xbox now to make that [Starfield] the best experience it can be. Not just on the hardware, but how people access it and being able to bring a game like this to more people than any of our games – it really is an incredible opportunity.”
Originally slated for November 2022 on Xbox Series X/S and PC, Starfield was delayed to the first half of 2023. Later, reports emerged courtesy of Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier about “some folks” being “extremely worried” about hitting the previous release date. Based on the progress of development at that point, the term “next Cyberpunk” began to be floated.
A recent image of the Xbox Game Pass sign-up page indicated that the sci-fi RPG could launch in early 2023. This means sometime between January to March next year, taking the fiscal quarter into account. Hopefully, more details will be revealed on June 12th at the Xbox showcase. Stay tuned in the meantime.