Starfield’s setting, as part of Bethesda’s first new IP in over twenty-five years, has been far harder to pin down than the settings of previous Elder Scrolls and Fallout games. With the release of the three Starfield: Location Insights videos at the end of last month, fans finally got a direct idea about some of the places they might visit in the game.
Although a few key cities have been focused on so far, it still hasn’t been made explicitly clear where in the galaxy Starfield takes place. Between details in the recent videos and background information visible in the Into the Starfield: The Journey Begins video released just after E3 2021, however, it’s possible to start mapping out some of the star systems which are confirmed to be appearing in the game, at least as part of the story if not explorable areas.
The Kryx System
Around 57 seconds in to the Into the Starfield video, a broad behind-the-scenes look at Starfield’s development, the screen of Bethesda’s design director Emil Pagliarulo is visible. On the screen is what appears to be a draft of an in-universe email, sent by a character named U.C. Fleet Admiral Pascular Logan warning of the threat posed by one of Starfield’s factions, a loosely aligned pirate group named the Crimson Fleet.
The Admiral’s message claims that “pirates of the Crimson Fleet have extended far beyond the Kryx system,” suggesting that the Kryx system will be one of the systems included in the game’s explorable universe. It also suggests that the area may be the heart of the Crimson Fleet’s operations. If nothing else, the email implies that the area is particularly affected by the pirates.
The Kryx system may be one of the three star systems that make up the Freestar Collective. The email states that the Crimson Fleet is “clearly no longer just a Freestar Collective problem,” suggesting that so far the Freestar Collective has been the hardest hit. The Kryx system could be part of the Collective’s territory, or it may just be a neighboring star system used to launch pirate attacks on the Collective’s ships. Whatever the case, the Kryx system seems likely to be one of the more dangerous areas in Starfield's setting. Whether that danger can be the player or not remains to be seen.
Sagan, Cheyenne, Lunara, And Narion
The same document from the Into the Starfield video mentions several other star systems which are now being affected by the Crimson Fleet menace. Fleet Admiral Logan states that the Crimson Fleet has “established footholds in the Sagan, Cheyenne, Lunara and Narion systems.” Since it is the pirates’ presence in these systems that appears to have drawn the attention of the United Colonies high command, it seems likely that these four systems are either within the UC’s control and on their borders with the Freestar Collective, or are uncontrolled systems that neighbor UC territory.
The message visible in the Starfield video goes on to explain that “both SysDef and the Vanguard are committed to ridding United Colonies space of these parasites.” It’s unclear who SysDef and the Vanguard are – they could be private military contractors, or SysDef might be a kind of interstellar police force while the Vanguard has closer connections to the military. These aren’t the only possibilities, but they seem the most likely based on the names alone.
It’s possible that some of the systems mentioned won’t actually be visitable in the game, although if the email is part of a quest, it could be that each system is an area the player is expected to visit to fight the Crimson Fleet menace. Either way, unless the document undergoes revision before the game’s release, the Sagan, Cheyenne, Lunara, and Narion systems are confirmed parts of the Starfield story.
Alpha Centauri
Fleet Admiral Logan signs off his email with his location, “New Atlantis – Planet Jerrison – Alpha Centauri.” This confirms that the Alpha Centauri system, the closest star system to Earth’s Solar system will be in the game. New Atlantis was the focus of one of the Starfield: Location Insights videos released last month.
Emil Pagliarulo describes New Atlantis as “the capital city of the United Colonies, or U.C., the most powerful, established military and political faction in the game.” This seems to suggest both that Alpha Centauri will be the center of the United Colonies’ power and the most extensively colonized system. As the closest to Earth at just over four lightyears away, it makes sense.
Earth's Solar System
Earth’s Solar system is of course already confirmed to exist in the Starfield story, which like Fallout takes place in a speculative future. There is some evidence suggesting that players could visit parts of the Solar system as well. Back in 2019, Reddit user Mashaaaaaaaaa pointed out that the planet seen in the Starfield announcement trailer from E3 2018 resembles some concepts for a terraformed Mars.
There is certainly some resemblance, though it doesn’t necessarily confirm that the planet is in fact supposed to be Mars or that Mars will be visitable in the game. Starfield will probably need to come up with a good explanation, however, if players are not able to visit Earth’s Solar system.
If they are able to, a terraformed Mars could be a great candidate. Bethesda developers have visited SpaceX while working on the game, a company which is at least ostensibly invested in colonizing the red planet. Unlike Earth, Mars could allow Bethesda to design settlements from the ground up, perhaps making it more likely to appear as an explorable area than humanity’s home world itself.
Fans are finally getting a clearer picture of the star systems Starfield will take place in than they’ve had since Bethesda announced the game. However, it’s still unclear exactly how they will travel between them, how much of each star system they will be able to explore, and whether all of the systems mentioned so far will actually appear as explorable areas.
Starfield is set to release on November 11, 2022, for PC and Xbox Series X/S.