Many Elder Scrolls fans are eagerly awaiting the sixth installment in the series, but with Bethesda currently marketing its upcoming sci-fi game Starfield, the possibility of a post-Skyrim game is seemingly on the back burner. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. The studios' new IP is among some of the most anticipated video games of 2022, and is likely going to become one of the year's most talked about releases. While not a huge amount is known about it, there have been some images doing the rounds, including these alleged early build shots.
According to a recent report, which cites Reddit user Yes1SNo, a number of screenshots have surfaced which seem to show a 2018 build of Starfield. The images were uploaded to Imgur a few days ago, and show of a couple of exterior assets supposedly from the game, chief among them is a golden dome. If legitimate, then it shows what the state of the sci-fi title looked like a few years ago, which likely means that these may have changed all-together since then. The Reddit user even says that these images are unlikely to represent the final product.
It seems that the fan base is being drip fed bits and piece here and there, either the aforementioned leaks, or official content. Last week, Bethesda shared some Starfield concept art, which showed a figure, perhaps the player, in a mysterious cave. Although the game is billed as sci-fi, the cave artwork does suggest that players will be exploring a variety of different environments. However, there's still not a lot to go on, but given the developer's propensity for epic world aesthetics, it's likely that Starfield will have some interesting locales either to see or discover.
More images can be found on Imgur here.
As it stands, Bethesda's new IP will be an Xbox exclusive title, though there will be a PC port as well. This is most likely due to Microsoft acquiring Zenimax, the parent company of the Maryland-based studio. This also means that PlayStation owners will unlikely be able to play the sci-fi RPG, which is undoubtedly going to annoy some people.
Starfield was announced in 2018 at the E3 convention, with the game due for release this November. Speculations about a new IP had been circulating for some time before this, so it's likely that it's been in the make for a number of years at this point. Given that, it's important to reiterate that, even if the leaked images of the early screenshots are legitimate, they are unlikely to be indicative of the final release, however exciting they may be.
Starfield launches November 11, 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X.
Source: DSO Gaming, Yes1SNo (Reddit user)