Games don’t get much bigger than that.
On September 6th, Bethesda Game Studios, one of the most popular development teams in the world, will bring gamers something completely new for the first time in two decades.
A far cry from the elves, orcs, and magic of the Elder Scrolls franchise’s premiere; And also post-apocalyptic American states of its Fallout games; Starfield will take players to it space.
Its scope is almost unimaginably vast, featuring over 1,000 explorable planets, moons, and space stations, created through a combination of artists and algorithms to make each feel unique.
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Starfield ships hundreds of planets to explore. Pic: Bethesda
‘irresponsibly large’
Like Bethesda’s previous role-playing games, Starfield allows players to create their own hero, who will meet thousands of characters over the course of their adventure.
Some will join their crew to wander the Milky Way – not only following the main narrative, but extensive side missions and other distractions along the way.
In fact, Starfield feels comfortable devouring people’s lives. Pete Hines, one of Bethesda’s longest-serving executives, called the game “irresponsibly big” earlier this year.
Gamers (most likely their loved ones) will be the judge of that, Pete, but that will likely only serve to reinforce the already huge anticipation surrounding this highly anticipated game.
It’s potentially the biggest title left on the 2023 release calendar, says Lucy James, games journalist at GameSpot – no small feat. Spider Man And Call Of Duty is among its competitors.
“Bethesda Game Studios’ games capture the zeitgeist as few games do,” she told Sky News.
“They are loved for the depth of their missions, their huge worlds, and these memorable moments, and they can even get away with the kind of mistakes that other developers couldn’t necessarily because their games are so ambitious.
“And they’ve been saying for years that Starfield is the most ambitious title they’ve ever worked on.”
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Starfield will allow players to design their own ships. Pic: Bethesda
Why Starfield means so much to Xbox
First announced in 2018, Starfield experienced several delays before settling on its final release date.
The wait got worse since Bethesda’s core team hadn’t released a game since 2015. That was Fallout 4, a segment many players and critics felt fell short of the previous or the studio’s most popular title: Skyrim.
Skyrim first came out in 2011, taking the Elder Scrolls niche relatively mainstream. Over 60 million copies have been sold thanks to countless re-releases on modern consoles such as Play Station 5، Virtual Reality headphones and even Amazon Alexa speakers.
But while the excitement for Starfield is undeniable, it probably won’t even come close to those sales numbers. It might be a big release for gamers, but it might be an even bigger release for him Microsoft And for him X-Box platform.
It may have felt like Skyrim arrived in time for every electrical device, but Starfield won’t even appear on PlayStation or Android Nintendo‘s Switch, both of which boast audiences much larger than current Xbox consoles.
that’s why Microsoft bought Bethesda’s parent company for $7.5 billion (then £5.8 billion) in 2020. One of the main reasons was to bring some of the biggest franchises in the industry to the Xbox Game Pass service, a.k.a NetflixSubscription-style offering games not only on console and PC, but also on smartphones via cloud streaming.
James says the service, which has more than 25 million subscribers, has changed the way Microsoft views games.
“Microsoft entered this generation on the back – their previous console was a lot less successful than its competitor and they’ve made a lot of changes to how the Xbox works,” she says.
“They’ve bought a number of studios and are working on improving their portfolio and their image, but a lot of people are still criticizing them for not having the strongest lineup.”
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Starfield is located in the Milky Way. Pic: Bethesda
Game Pass prepares for ‘massive influx’
The latest entry in the Halo series that Microsoft won in 2021 disappointed many gamers, while some of the games that came to them via studio acquisitions — like Redfall earlier this year — were flops with critics.
James says there’s “a lot of pressure” on Xbox to find an outcome that will drive Game Pass subscriptions higher – and perhaps Starfield seems better positioned than any game to date to do so.
“A massive influx will come in September when Starfield continues,” she says. “You can buy it for £70, or pay for a month of Game Pass (£9 in the UK) to try it out and then get your foot in the door.”
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Starfield’s impact on Game Pass numbers could also provide a hint of Microsoft’s results An imminent purchase of the Call Of Duty Activision Blizzard Factory The largest technology acquisition in history.
No doubt, the company is hoping that the mega franchise will drive subscriptions even more. By the end of 2023, Game Pass could be home to some of the best and biggest titles in the industry, as Microsoft looks to do for games what Netflix did for movies and TV.
For now, Starfield is the poster child for this installment.
Bethesda’s first foray into the Final Frontier was always a big step for gamers, but it could also be a giant leap for gaming.
