Update: Starfield delay is a blessing and a curse for Xbox Series X.
The hype engine behind Starfield is approaching warp speed, especially since Bethesda design director Emil Pagliarulo has said the upcoming sci-fi game will see players “lose their minds.”
In a blog post introducing Pagliarulo as the lead designer on Starfield, he quickly gets onto the subject of what’ll be Bethesda's first new game IP in years. And there’s clearly a lot of excitement behind his words for this Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and Windows PC exclusive.
“There comes a point when you’re working on a game, and it’s just kind of a mess, especially early on, because — news flash! — that’s what game development is,” Pagliarulo said in reference to his work so far on Starfield.
“But then you get to that point where systems really start to come online, and things start to work well, and gel, and you see everything forming into the vision you had when you first started on this crazy journey. When that first happened with Starfield, it really was an, 'Oh. Oh wow. Yeah. This is… something really special. Players are going to lose their minds.' Now we just have to finish it!"
It would be sensible not to get sucked into the Starfield hype wormhole, because despite a release date set for November 11 this year, we've not yet seen any serious game footage yet, or been given any clues as to how it will play.
However, Bethesda's drip feeding of Starfield information has painted a heady mix of vast space-based exploration — akin to Skyrim but with astronaut suits and starships rather than armor and arrows to the knee — mixed with the hard sci-fi of TV series like The Expanse.
There's a feeling that it’ll be a bit of a Han Solo simulator, and Bethesda boss Toss Howard has described Starfield as “like NASA meets Indiana Jones.” So it’s hard for sci-fi and open world game fans like myself not to feel a sliver of excitement.
And now Pagliarulo’s excited words are simply fuel for the hype-drive; the idea of sitting in a pseudo-realistic spaceship watching the systems blink online and looking up and out at a beckoning sky is pretty tantalizing for a big ol’ nerd like me, especially if I can do so while wearing one of the best VR headsets.
Equally, this all means that Bethesda needs to show off Starfield sooner than later — say at a joint Bethesda and Xbox event in the summer — or risk dampening expectations. But rest assured, as soon as Tom’s Guide knows more about Starfield, we’ll bring it to you at the journalistic equivalent of lightspeed.
