After the game was revealed at E3 2019, Bethesda finally gave us a new trailer and a release date for Starfield at the joint Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase at E3 2021. However, it was also revealed that the game would be a console exclusive for the Xbox Series X|S. According to the game’s director, Todd Howard, that exclusivity will make Starfield a “better product.”
In an interview with The Telegraph, Howard spoke about the game at length, including its exclusivity to Xbox consoles and PC. It was theorized that the PlayStation 5 would end up not getting Starfield after Microsoft’s purchase of ZeniMax Media, which netted the tech giant Bethesda, along with a number of other notable studios. The aggressive move to leave Starfield off of PlayStation’s consoles will surely leave some players out, but it’s for the best, Howard said.
“You don’t ever want to leave people out, right,” said Howard. “But at the end of the day, your ability to focus and say this is the game I want to make, these are the platforms I want to make it on, and being able to really lean in on those is going to make for a better product.”
At the same time, Howard seems somewhat remorseful that more players won’t be able to play Starfield from the get-go. When asked by The Telegraph how he feels about Bethesda games not coming to PlayStation consoles, he responded, “I will just say I want everybody to have the ability to play it in some fashion.”
Howard has also hinted at what Starfield will actually be like, although in a pretty coy way. Speaking to The Washington Post, Howard described the game as “like ‘Skyrim‘ in space.” Another member of the Bethesda team, managing director Ashley Cheng, gave a more apt description, saying Starfield is like a “Han Solo simulator. Get in a ship, explore the galaxy, do fun stuff.”
Starfield is currently slated for release on November 11, 2022. It’ll launch on Xbox Game Pass as a Microsoft exclusive.
