After years of fans speculating on its existence with only a registered trademark to go on, Bethesda has finally unveiled Starfield, a new space-themed RPG. The announcement came during its E3 2018 Showcase, the content of which was kept well under-wraps in true Bethesda style.

Despite plenty of rumours suggesting that Starfield would be shown at E3 last year, and more rumors that the game would instead be unveiled at E3 this year, Bethesda did not utter a single word to even confirm they were working on the title. Instead, they announced the game with a surprise trailer, which can be viewed below:

Todd Howard revealed that the game would be for the next generation of consoles. The trailer revealed extremely little, simply panning out from what is clearly a space setting, with the title Starfield being shown. It was also made clear that Starfield will be a single player experience, which will no doubt be welcome news to fans of the traditional Bethesda format.

Along with a shot of a planet, there was also a brief couple of seconds in which a space craft of some sort was visible. This may be an indicator of the size and scope of Starfield - after all, the next generation of consoles and a brand new game engine may open up all sorts of possibilities, allowing for a massive in-game universe which allows the player to travel between multiple different planets.

The Starfield trailer was one of two surprise trailers that were shown right at the end of Bethesda's conference, the other being for the much-anticipated new Elder Scrolls title. Like Starfield, Bethesda had very little to show of the new game, simply showing a brief shot of a landscape and ending with the title.

It will be quite some time before we see Starfield, given that it will be releasing for the next generation of consoles. It's likely that Bethesda's decision to show the game so long before its release was in part motivated by a desire to reassure fans that despite the always-online nature of their next title, Fallout 76, Bethesda is very much still in the business of creating the single-player experiences that built their fanbase.

Starfield is currently in development, and will be releasing on the next generation of consoles.

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