Starfield had a somewhat controversial launch in September 2023. But as creative director Todd Howard has emphasized in previous interviews, the game is made to be played over long periods of time. That means game updates and changes will be crucial to retaining players for years to come. Most recent update from Bethesda indicates that the team plans to add a series of new features in 2024, in addition to a new story expansion titled Shattered Space.
Starfield will receive regular updates into the new year, expected to be “approximately” every six weeks. The official Bethesda blog said “Updates will include everything from quality-of-life improvements to content and feature updates”. The biggest highlight is that the studio is allowing people to beta test these updates by signing up for the game’s beta branch on Steam.
To participate, players simply right-click on the game in your Steam library, click “Properties,” then “Betas,” then “beta – Beta.” It should be noted that the exact name of the beta version may be very different when Bethesda officially releases these betas.
Bethesda’s blog also covers some more interesting details. Starfield will have “new ways to travel” and a city map (which many gamers have complained about not having). Additionally, Bethesda is also looking to expand “ship customization with ship decorations, new ship building options…”
Core gameplay points are also expected to receive new updates. The blog post says that future updates will give players:
”Settings (to) change your gameplay for an easier or more challenging experience, which is more expansive than our usual “Difficulty” customization. These will allow you to easily customize your carrying capacity, cargo reach, ship damage, supplier credits, how you endure afflictions, new survival mechanics….”
Bethesda’s post reiterates that official mod support is coming to Starfield via “Creations.”
The studio hasn’t said much about the upcoming Starfield expansion, Shattered Space, only stating that there will be “New plot content, new locations, new equipment” and “more and more”.
Bethesda also shared some interesting statistics. Highlights include the 12,276,466 times players have “sacrificed” at the hands of Ecliptic, making them the most dangerous faction in the game.
Some other interesting statistics are that about 1.6 million players have completed Starfield, or players have visited 1,972,346,902 planets… In addition, Sense Star Stuff, the ability to allow players to see people through walls , is the most used power.
Time will tell whether Starfield’s updates will bring new life to Bethesda’s blockbuster game. At the present time, the game still has a lot of things to do if it wants to reach the same level Skyrim.
