After almost eight years of development, Starfield finally launched in September of last year, causing a whirlwind of discourse surrounding Bethesda's RPG formula, the hype that surrounds high-profile releases like it, and the state of Xbox and its first-party studios. Of course, Starfield was also met with a pretty divisive critical reception. But despite the discourse and the reviews, Bethesda promised that it would continue to work on Starfield.
It seems as though Bethesda is making good on that promise, with Starfield having already received several patches, and some major updates slated to drop very soon. Starfield's still got a long way to go before it can become the game many fans wanted it to be, and while that'll take a lot of effort, it seems as though Bethesda is willing to put in the work.
How Starfield Remains a Success Story In The Face of Failure
Expectations for Starfield were sky-high, and while many felt it fell short of them, raw sales and other statistics tell a different tale.
Starfield Can Come Out on Top in 2024
Starfield's Journey to Success Is Already Well Underway
Though its main story was a little convoluted and lackluster, Starfield's side content may just be some of Bethesda's best yet, featuring an array of compelling stories, characters, and set pieces. Starfield's gameplay was also a clear improvement over the last few Bethesda RPG titles, offering ground combat, ship combat, ship customization, base-building, and more. But, of course, there was a lot about Starfield that disappointed fans, though many of those issues aren't irreparable.
As evidenced by the trainwreck that was Fallout 76, Bethesda never just abandons its games once they've shipped. Instead, Bethesda will spend months, sometimes years, patching the game, adding features, tweaking mechanics, and ensuring that it's the best possible version it can be. It looks as though Starfield is going to be getting that same treatment, if not even more so than any previous Bethesda project.
The very first Starfield update came all the way back in September 2023, fixing various technical issues and bugs. Bethesda hasn't stopped since, with its latest major patch dropping in March, adding a slew of quality-of-life improvements to the game. On May 15, Bethesda is stepping up its Starfield support even more, delivering a major update that's set to finally add surface maps, ship interior decorations, and new 60fps capabilities for Xbox Series X. Starfield is already a much better game than it was on launch day, and Bethesda's work is far from over.
Shattered Space Could Be Starfield's Turning Point
While these frequent patches and updates are good, they're not changing the general perception of Starfield anytime soon, or bringing back players who left the game early on. But Starfield's upcoming Shattered Space expansion has the potential to do just that.
Though the full contents of this story expansion are unknown, it's more than possible for Shattered Space to really turn things around for Starfield, just as long as it's packed with new, meaningful content. As Cyberpunk 2077 proved, a game can go from the bottom of the barrel to the top quite quickly as long as its major issues are fixed, there's a wealth of new content to explore, and fans feel as though they've been listened to.
Starfield
- Released
- September 6, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.
The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Publisher(s)
- Bethesda
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 101 GB (September 2023)
- Metascore
- 86
