It has been nearly eight years since Starfield commenced active development, but in 2023, we look set to finally embark on Bethesda’s epic space adventure. For years, fans of Fallout and Skyrim have known that Starfield is coming next, pushing back their other favorite series, but given the studio’s track record, most are happy to wait and see where the outer-space RPG will take them.
After a teaser in 2018 was followed by a trailer in 2021, Starfield’s launch looked to be getting closer, but soon, it missed the November 2022 release date. A first-half of 2023 date was also eventually bumped, perhaps owing to Microsoft’s takeover. Now, however, we have what looks to be the firm and final release date. Starfield will arrive on 6 September 2023, per Ars Technica, so here are three key elements of the game for fans to get excited for.
It’s Bethesda, so expect epic bugs
Of course, fans really don’t want another Fallout 76 situation, but what comes as part of the freedom allowed by Bethesda games is the discovery of bugs. Perhaps the most famous comes from the studio’s most beloved game, Skyrim. As CyberGhost details, the Giant Launch glitch easily ranks among the funniest game bugs of all time.
The premise is simple: in certain situations, if the swinging club of a giant kills your character, you’ll get sent flying into the air, well above Tamriel. If the hit’s clean enough, the Dragonborn’s corpse wouldn’t spin too much, so you could appreciate the vast and detailed landscape before crashing back down and needing to respawn.
The Giant Launch is just one of so many common bugs and glitches in The Elder Scrolls and Fallout games, and those that don’t break the game have become tremendous sources of entertainment for fans. Starfield’s going to be Bethesda’s biggest game yet, and even with Microsoft pumping the final stages of development with cash, they won’t be able to eliminate all of the rather charming little bugs. Look forward to finding them in Starfield.
Fully customizable ships with lots of data points
Bethesda games are all about freedom and deep customisation options with a huge number of routes and actions to take. While Starfield will have all of the avatar RPG options and game-changing decisions to make, perhaps the most intriguing is the level of customisation that you’ll get for your spaceship.
Travelling between planets and engaging in space dogfights, your craft will be a big part of the experience. Bethesda knows this, and, as PC Gamer reports, you’re going to have a mountain of customisation options to tinker with and perfect.
The ship customisation screen from the footage shown so far has 11 key data lines that you’ll get to adjust through upgrades and different gear options. There’ll also be a whole host of weapons to choose from, as well as enhance the functionality of the ship. There’s going to be so much to explore on the ship alone.
A massive but reasonably restrained planet count
Todd Howard, director of Bethesda, has become somewhat of a meme for his many grandiose statements in the past, particularly about Fallout 76 and now Starfield. The upcoming release is incredibly large, to be fair, but the studio has been remarkably restrained, they say.
Starfield will have a finite galaxy, an article from The Loadout relays, with 100 systems for 1,000 planets chosen specifically because each can be controlled and customised. At a click of a button, more could have been added, but this count allows for each to be quality controlled, tested, and made to fit the galaxy and narratives.
Starfield arrives in September this year, and without a doubt, fans will be itching to explore the hundreds of systems, make their spaceship their own, and, of course, stumble across some classic Bethesda bugs.
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