Starfield's release date is officially September 6, but those excited for Bethesda's sci-fi RPG will get the chance to play it as early as September 1 if they're willing to pay a bit extra for the game. Starfield is easily one of the most highly-anticipated games of the year, and for good reason. It's Bethesda's first single-player RPG in nearly a decade, and its gameplay presentations have been very impressive.
Bethesda recently hosted a Starfield Direct presentation that gave fans their best look at Starfield yet. The Starfield Direct showed that Starfield is going to be a classic-style Bethesda RPG, but in space, with an ambitiously massive world, space exploration, and more. Time will tell if Starfield will live up to the hype, but things are certainly looking up for Bethesda's space-faring adventure.
For many fans, Starfield's September 6 release date can't come soon enough. Luckily, those that absolutely can't wait to play the game on September 6 have the option of getting the Starfield Premium Edition for $99.99 or the Premium Edition Upgrade for $34.99 (bringing the total to about $105 for those that go that route). The Starfield Premium Edition comes with the Shattered Space DLC, Constellation Skin Pack, a digital artbook, and the game's soundtrack, while those getting it physically can also get a Steelbook display case and a Constellation patch. And of course, it also comes with up to five days early access, meaning fans can jump in on September 1 instead of September 6.
When is Starfield Early Access?
- September 1, 2023
Those that plan on playing Starfield through Xbox Game Pass should note that they don't have to spring for the $99.99 version of the game to get early access. It's our understanding that Xbox Game Pass subscribers will have the chance to download Starfield early and then purchase the $34.99 Premium Upgrade to play on September 1 with all the other early access players. Those that can hold out until September 6 won't have to pay anything beyond their usual Game Pass subscription fee, but this is still a nice solution for those that want to play the game through Game Pass and don't want to fork over $99.99 for the Premium Edition.
Starfield sales are already strong, and it will be interesting to see how many wind up getting the Premium Edition of the game over the base version. Ultimately, this seems like a great way for Xbox to double dip with consumers by getting those who are signed up for Xbox Game Pass to pay extra for early access, and if the experiment is a success, it wouldn't be surprising to see the same strategy employed for all the future big first-party Xbox games.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X.