The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim Anniversary Edition released today, giving hardcore Elder Scrolls fans an excuse to jump back into one of their favorite games. However, those waiting for a new Bethesda title will have to wait until Starfield releases in November 2022.
Bethesda still isn’t ready to show off Starfield gameplay, and fans have many burning questions about the developer’s first original IP in 25 years. Fortunately, Todd Howard has answered a big one, revealing that Starfield will launch with full mod support.
Howard revealed this information during a Reddit AMA. Most Bethesda fans probably won’t find this news surprising as Skyrim and Fallout 4 both have official mod support. Skyrim is famous for its large and extremely varied modding landscape, with almost three billion downloads from mod-sharing website Nexus Mods. Fallout 4’s modding community obviously isn’t quite as old, but it’s still a large part of why people play that game. Still, it’s good to have official confirmation that Bethesda will continue to support the modding community in Starfield.
Hi, I’m Todd Howard, Game Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda Game Studios. Here to celebrate Skyrim’s 10th anniversary, but of course, Ask Me Anything. Thanks! from IAmA
The AMA also revealed a few minor details about the upcoming game. One commenter asked if Starfield will feature a robot companion. Howard answered with the concise but somewhat cryptic, “Yes, kind of.” It isn’t entirely clear whether he means that it is kind of a robot or kind of the player’s companion. Howard also revealed that Starfield’s character creator will allow players to choose their preferred pronouns. The game will also have recorded dialogue reflecting whether the character is a he, she, or they
Unfortunately, the Reddit AMA didn’t include many big revelations about the upcoming game. That’s bound to be a little frustrating, as players might not see any Starfield gameplay until the next E3. What fans do know is that Todd Howard previously compared the game to “Skyrim in space.” Like Skyrim and Fallout 4, players can choose to experience the game in either first or third person. It will also feature multiple joinable factions in addition to the main storyline. Known factions include Constellation, which the plot focuses on, plus the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective. Howard’s comments seem to indicate that the main plot will be separate from the faction questlines, unlike how Fallout: New Vegas and Fallout 4 handled factions.
Starfield uses Bethesda’s new Creation Engine 2, an upgraded version of the software used in Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76. It’s unclear how the new engine differs from its predecessor, but it will reportedly allow Starfield to take full advantage of modern hardware advancements. Fans will most likely get more information as we inch closer to Starfield’s release date next fall.
Starfield releases for PC and Xbox Series X/S on November 11, 2022.