When Bethesda was first bought out by Microsoft, the state of several high-profile releases and the consoles they would appear on was left up in the air. Then, the official announcement for Starfield releasing on Xbox Series X/S and PC had set the game as an exclusive, but some fans still hoped that Microsoft would still allow Bethesda to release on PlayStation somewhere down the line.
A recent response to this discussion circulating around in the fan community has now shut the door on Starfield coming to PlayStation, either at launch or in the future. From the response by Xbox GM Aaron Greenberg, it can be assumed that there are no plans to release the game on any other console than the Xbox Series X/S or PC.
The response in question comes from a Twitter thread in which gaming commentator The Red Dragon shared a take on Bethesda's Pete Hines that implied that Starfield could eventually come to PlayStation. However, according to Greenberg, the game is currently being built for Xbox Series X/S and PC only, and as such it will only launch on Microsoft consoles. In further comments and responses, Greenberg also mentions that this is not a timed exclusive, it is officially marketed as and Xbox exclusive and it isn't expected to come to other systems.
While the exact wording only specifically comments on the launch of Starfield, the implication and further comments and replies to other tweets from Greenberg imply that it will only be available through Xbox. It will also be arriving on Xbox Game Pass on day one to both console and PC players, though the door is effectively shut on the title coming to PlayStation anytime soon. That still hasn't stopped players from hoping and guessing that the game will eventually make the transition later, either in a year or more, but it doesn't like this is what is intended to be the case.
A trouble with the language on these types of high-profile launches is that people like Hines and Greenberg are essentially forced to tiptoe around making proclamations too far into the future. Fans hoping to see Starfield spacefaring narrative come to PlayStation could possibly get it in a year, or five years, but there are currently no plans to move it over and Microsoft might as well consider the exclusivity permanent. For now, the simple truth is that as far as Microsoft is concerned Starfield is unfortunately not coming to PlayStation, neither at launch nor in the foreseeable future.
Starfield is set to release on November 11, 2022, for PC and Xbox Series X/S.