The joint Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase hosted Sunday as part of E3 2021 was particularly interesting because it was one of the first major presentations since Microsoft acquired Bethesda's parent company ZeniMax Media last September. Microsoft has previously confirmed that some Bethesda games will be exclusives, as Xbox head Phil Spencer said the company hopes to bolster its next-gen console library and Game Pass offerings, and at E3 it was confirmed Starfield will not be coming to PlayStation.
Starfield is Bethesda's next major RPG described by executive producer Todd Howard as "kind of like" The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim in structure, except set in space rather than a fantasy-adventure world. It has been in development for some time now, and during the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase a new trailer revealed Starfield's November 11, 2022 release date and in-engine footage. Many also took note that the game is in development for PC and Xbox Series X/S, but not Sony's PS5.
Bethesda SVP of global marketing and communications Pete Hines told GameSpot managing editor Tamoor Hussain that he doesn't know how to allay the concerns of PS5 fans around 11 minutes into an interview for GameSpot's Play For All 2021. He apologized and said he knows Starfield's exclusivity is frustrating, but there's not a lot he can do about it.
"There's only so much time I can spend being focused on what we're not doing," Hines said. "The actual problem is we're making it for these other platforms, so how is that going, where are we, and when are we ready to talk about these different elements of the game?"
Hines let fans know that he understands many feel unhappy or "pissed," especially those who experienced titles where Bethesda supported most major platforms and became "a big fan of the stuff we make." He and Hussain go on to talk about Xbox Game Pass, which the managing editor described as a "compelling proposition" because it makes major titles available on PC as well as console.
Another benefit to Game Pass that Hines said helped the service flourish is the push to make many Xbox titles available on day one. He said Bethesda often focused on making its titles available for platforms such as Game Pass "well post-launch," but it is "remarkable" to see what Game Pass has done for games by other ZeniMax-owned studios such as Arkane and id Software.
"What Game Pass can do for your title as far as playerbase and [getting] people active in your game is pretty amazing. I'm super excited for where they are and where they're heading," Hines said.
Many titles highlighted during Xbox's presentation at E3 2021 also boasted day one availability on Game Pass, such as Relic Entertainment's Age of Empires 4 releasing this October. While PlayStation fans may miss out on Starfield, it seems Bethesda still hopes to leverage its resources from Microsoft to get as many people onto its games as possible.
Starfield releases November 11, 2022 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.