Bethesda has broken its silence regarding the future of its game, Starfield, promising to detail “exciting things” in the coming months, despite ongoing player dissatisfaction with communication and the game’s absence from recent major events.
The developer issued a statement on Steam accompanying Starfield Update 1.15.222, currently in beta. This comes after significant player frustration, particularly following Starfield’s no-show at June’s Xbox Games Showcase, where titles like The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 had a presence, but Starfield received no announcements regarding DLC, expansions, or a potential PlayStation 5 release. The community had widely viewed this as a “final straw.”
The brief and somewhat vague statement from Bethesda, released ahead of Gamescom in August, acknowledged future updates. It stated, “Looking ahead, we’re continuing work on future updates and will share more about the exciting things we have planned for Starfield in the coming months.”
Players are hopeful that this assurance signifies the continued development of a promised second Starfield expansion and potentially a PlayStation 5 port, following the precedent set by games like Forza Horizon 5.
Starfield, Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years, launched in September 2023. While it has since reached 15 million players, its reception has been less favorable compared to previous Bethesda titles in the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises. The “Shattered Space” expansion, released in September 2024, currently holds a “mostly negative” user review rating on Steam.
Despite the mixed reception, Bethesda has consistently affirmed its commitment to Starfield. In June 2024, the company reiterated its dedication to supporting the game and confirmed at least one additional story expansion would follow “Shattered Space.” Todd Howard, from Bethesda Game Studios, also stated in an interview with the YouTube channel MrMattyPlays that the developer aims to release an annual story expansion for “hopefully a very long time.”
The context for Bethesda’s recent communication also includes significant internal changes. Microsoft’s recent layoffs impacted Bethesda, leading to cuts at its London office and ZeniMax Online Studios, the cancellation of an unannounced MMORPG, and the stepping down of a veteran studio head.
Starfield Update 1.15.222, currently in Steam Beta, includes minor improvements. Its patch notes detail:
- General:
- Minor improvements to format and display in Creations menus.
- Addressed an issue that could cause that Extreme Temperature gear to appear incorrectly.
- Minor improvements to sorting in the Missions Menu.
- General crash and stability fixes.
For players interested in opting into the Starfield Beta update on Steam, the instructions are as follows:
- Open your Steam Library and navigate to Starfield.
- Right-click on “Starfield” and select “Properties.”
- In the new properties pop-up window, select “Betas.”
- In the beta drop-down to opt into, select “[beta].”
- Wait for the app to download the new build and launch.
