Starfield is Bethesda's first original role-playing game in 25 years, and it is set in a realistic and grounded 24th-century space setting. After nearly three years since its announcement, we are slowly learning more about the game and when you might expect to play it. We've compiled all the material we could find on Starfield, including trailers, video updates, interviews, and concept art, below.

Starfield has been postponed until 2023, just as we were beginning to feel encouraged by Bethesda's usual summertime videos. Despite the delay until the next year, we will continue to collect information about Starfield's factions, characters, and space travel on this page. Here is what we know about Bethesda's upcoming role-playing game.

What is the Starfield Release Date?

Starfield will be released during the first half of 2023. The release date was originally scheduled for November 11, 2022. Bethesda confirmed the delay in May 2022, stating, "The teams at Arkane Austin (Redfall) and Bethesda Game Studios (Starfield) have enormous aspirations for their respective games, and we want to ensure that you receive the most polished versions possible."
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Starfield Now has a Steam Page

The forthcoming interplanetary RPG has a Steam website, and while it does not provide a complete explanation of gameplay or what to expect, it does indicate that Bethesda are beginning to sell the game. In the next months, we can certainly expect many more insights and specifics to emerge, as they finally begin to discuss more solid game features.

Here's the Official Starfield Trailer From E3 2021

The Starfield E3 trailer is available above. It is a film depicting an astronaut boarding a spaceship while a robot walks about on the ground. The spacecraft is seen while a voiceover states, "What you've discovered is the key to unlocking... everything" and "We've reached the start of humanity's final journey." The pilot sits at a console, flips a number of switches, and the video concludes with rockets launching and the spacecraft preparing to launch.

You can also view the first episode of Bethesda's new Starfield series, Into the Starfield, which breaks down their inspirations, displays new concept art (including stunning animated pieces), and discusses the game. A second episode is also available, which discusses factions and demonstrates dialogue.

There's Starfield Concept Art Aplenty

We lack in-game photos and footage, but Bethesda has been included a lot of concept art for Starfield in its trailers to give us a sense of the types of locations we'll see.
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Starfield Has Exploration at Its Heart

A recent extended video released by Bethesda included game designer Todd Howard, studio director Angela Browder, and art director Matt Carofano discussing the inspirations for the upcoming space RPG Starfield.

"Many of our games include exploration, and the ultimate adventure is to discover what is out there. What is beyond Earth?" said Carofano. "Whereas Skyrim is kind of an epic fantasy, this is a more realistic game with a more realistic exploring scenario..."

When discussing the impact of exploration and the setting of earlier Bethesda games, Howard expressed similar sentiments.

"We always, so to speak,'step out' into the world," Howard explains. "Technology has evolved. We have all evolved. So our expectations when loading a game are, 'Okay, I'm going to go out and there will be this moment,' or something similar. Our ability to do so and have it feel fresh with each new generation and game is a truly unique aspect of what we do."

"I like to suggest that there are two "step out" moments in Starfield. That is obscure."
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What We Know About the Major Starfield Locations

One of the most recent teasers describes the 'Settled Systems' region of space, a 50 light-year radius around our solar system where civilization has spread. After a recent battle, the planet is divided between two great factions: the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective. Also mentioned are Ecliptic mercenaries, Crimson Fleet pirates, vicious Spacers, and even the extreme religious extremists of House Va'Ruun.

In the short movies titled "Location Insights," Starfield's design director, Emil Pagliarulo, introduced several of the villages you will explore. Each video is less than a minute long and consists of Pagliarulo providing a brief synopsis over concept art, therefore they do not provide much information. However, one of them does appear intriguing. Neon was originally constructed as a fishing platform on an aquatic globe, but its owner, the Xenofresh corporation, converted it into a pleasure city after discovering an alien fish with lucrative psychotropic properties. This dopefish is now exclusively permitted on Neon.

Other videos introduce New Atlantis, the capital of the United Colonies, and Akila City, the city of the Freestar Collective, which is fortified against "alien predators that are a cross between a wolf and a velociraptor."
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Starfield Also Has Factions

Space is a hazardous place, thus it should come as no surprise that the Settled Systems will be home to a variety of factions pursuing their own objectives. Similar to other popular Bethesda role-playing games, there will undoubtedly be factions at play in Starfield's environment. We have heard the names and brief descriptions of a few groups we may encounter or hear about along the way:
  • United Colonies: "the idealised future space republic"
  • Freestar Collective: "Space western fantasy, frontier-dwelling people"
  • A mega-corporation that is one of the available starting factions.
  • You may either join the Crimson Fleet or betray them.
  • House Va'Ruun is an organisation of religious fanatics.

What Other Tidbits Have Come Down About Starfield?

In November, at the Skyrim 10th Anniversary Concert, we received a surprise look at and listen to some of Starfield's music, as well as a large number of new concept art. It is worthwhile to examine both the pertinent portion of the concert and the new concept art for Starfield.