Amid a flurry of news about new Fallout games and an update on The Elder Scrolls 6, Bethesda Game Studios wants Starfield players to know it’s not giving up on its sci-fi spacefaring RPG. Bethesda said Friday that “Starfield remains an important part of our future” and confirmed that more content is coming to the game.
“As we enter Year 3, we’ll continue expanding the Settled Systems with new stories, targeted gameplay improvements, and additional updates, while preparing for the launch of new Starborn content next year,” Bethesda said in a wide-ranging update on its future game lineup.
The studio also had some new player numbers to share, noting that Starfield has racked up 17 million players since its September 2023 launch on Windows PC and Xbox Series X. (The game was available on launch day through Xbox Game Pass, which no doubt helped Starfield‘s adoption.) A PlayStation 5 port was released in April and, across all versions, players have logged “almost a billion hours to date,” Bethesda said.
The studio said it will keep investing in creators who use its Starfield: Creation Kit. “More than 40% of players already customize their experience through Creations, and we’ll continue investing in creators and giving players new ways to make Starfield their own,” the studio said.
The future of Starfield was somewhat uncertain in the wake of a massive “reset” at Xbox, which will include 3,200 layoffs at Microsoft’s gaming division over the next year and has already impacted Bethesda. New Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has reportedly pushed for Microsoft-owned game studios to focus on the company’s biggest gaming IPs, including Halo, Fallout, and The Elder Scrolls. While Starfield appears to be a hit for Bethesda Game Studios and designer Todd Howard, the studio’s Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises have a devoted following and equally impressive sales. Fallout 4 has reached 35 million copies sold and The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has reached 65 million copies sold, according to the latest numbers from Bethesda. Starfield may never reach those highs, but Bethesda promises to keep investing in it.
In addition to future support for Starfield, Bethesda announced Friday that it’s in pre-production on Fallout 5, and confirmed a new Fallout game from Obsidian Entertainment alongside remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas.
