Bethesda has never been coy when it comes to talking up the studio's latest game, promising a grander experience with every new release. From Fallout 3, Skyrim, and Fallout 4, the worlds of Bethesda's games continue to grow and offer more for players to explore and discover. The studio looks to take this to its peak, though, inside its upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield, which Howard says will let players explore thousands of worlds as they venture across the vastness of space.
Starfield is set over 300 years in the future in an age of space colonization and exploration where humanity has pushed itself well beyond the reach of the Solar System. Players will serve as a member of Constellation, an organization of space explorers dedicated to pushing humanity's reach further and discover what mysteries are hidden across space. They will also have to navigate around the political frictions between the United Colonies and Freestar Collective, the colonies' two biggest political powers which have been at peace since a bloody war 20 years before the game begins.
Game director Todd Howard gave players the deepest look into what they can expect from Starfield when it launches in 2023, from the factions at play to the deep character customization available. As mentioned above, though, the game looks to offer the biggest world Bethesda has created, yet, as Howard promises thousands of worlds for players to explore. He said during the Xbox and Bethesda showcase players will be able to land anywhere on the thousands of planets, spread out across over a hundred systems.
Howard highlighted this feature to close out his portion of the showcase using Jemison, the planet used to highlight the game's size and features during the showcase. The planet plays home to New Atlantis, one of the various settlements spread out across the vast galaxy players will rely on to survive their expedition.
As impressive and ambitious as this is, it would not be surprising to see some players compare this to the lofty promises made HelloGames after announcing No Man's Sky back in 2013. The studio and its founder, Sean Murray, made similar promises about a vast open galaxy to explore with hundreds of procedurally-generated planets to visit and learn about while venturing to the galaxy's center. However, the game was met with a mixed response when it released in 2016 due, in large part, to a lack of features originally promised - though many of these have since been added and the game has improved since thanks to updates such as No Man's Sky: Beyond.
Bethesda could find itself straddling this same line with Starfield by promising a galaxy as big as Howard indicated during the showcase. The studio's own track-record isn't spotless, either, as many of its major releases over the last decade have been plagued with various bugs and glitches at release. All players can do at this point is wait and see if Bethesda's claims about Starfield's size prove accurate.
Starfield is scheduled to release in early 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.