Starfield is coming. Thanks to the leadership of director Todd Howard and the dedication of the development team at Bethesda, they fully intend to make Starfield's release date of November 10, 2022.
The news comes courtesy of an interview between IGN and director Todd Howard. In it, Howard talks about the decision to push back the development of The Elder Scrolls 6 in favor of developing Starfield.
According to Howard, it was thanks to the success of Elder Scrolls Online and "the overall health of the franchise" that gave Bethesda the shot of confidence it needed to put the focus on Starfield. That sentiment makes sense. If one of the biggest properties in the studio can self-sustain for the time required to develop and release a new IP, then there is very little reason not to pursue that opportunity.
One of the biggest factors in Bethesda keeping on track for the target release date was the decision to put The Elder Scrolls 6 on the back burner, so to speak. According to Howard, a decision had to be made if the team was going to pursue the development of a new IP or be locked into the development of The Elder Scrolls 6 and potentially be unable to ever make Starfield. While both games were announced at E3 2018, The Elder Scrolls 6 has remained in pre-production while the team moved forward with Starfield. Due to this decision, it will likely be several years before players can once again visit the worlds of Tamriel.
It can be difficult to make decisions like this when it comes to determining what games to release and when. In particular, it's always safer to stick with a formula or series that a studio knows will work and safely turn a profit. It's far riskier to push back that "sure bet" and instead invest time and resources into a new IP. For that, it's commendable that Bethesda is venturing into uncharted territory and taking a risk. Despite wanting to delve back into the worlds of high fantasy that The Elder Scrolls offer, many gamers are equally excited to explore the polar opposite in a game about venturing across the stars.
Meeting release dates, now more than ever seems to be a tricky proposition, especially for immense AAA titles like Starfield. Just recently, the producer and director of Final Fantasy 14 Naoki Yoshida announced the delay of the Endwalker expansion. Endwalker was supposed to be released on November 23, 2021, and was pushed back to December 7, 2021. So, even when a promised release date is weeks away, it can still be adjusted. While there is no harm in being optimistic for a release date, it's always prudent to be aware the release date may change or otherwise not be met.
Starfield will be released on November 11, 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN