One of the most highly anticipated games expected at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase at E3 2021 wasStarfield, the next game from the developers ofFalloutandThe Elder Scrolls.Starfielddid make an appearance, opening the show with a cinematic trailer and a release date. But some Bethesda fans were hoping for something more substantial. Luckily, Bethesda has since followed up theStarfieldspotlight by sharing some interesting gameplay details like the return of factions and a lack of Tom Cruise.
Speaking with the Telegraph, Bethesda’s Todd Howard revealed some exciting new information about the game. To start, Howard offers a framing forStarfieldthat’s quite curious. He starts by sayingStarfieldis set around 300 years in the future. Players will be part of a group called Constellation, which Howard describes as NASA meetsIndiana Jonesmeets theLeague of Extraordinary Gentlemen. He also describes them as “the last group of space explorers,” which has a haunting subtext to it.
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Howard goes on to speak aboutStarfield’s structure as a game. In a surprisingly direct fashion, Howard says thatStarfieldis “kind of likeSkyrim” in terms of structure. He goes on to say that players will determine what kind of character they are, so that means players will have a lot of freedom. He also says players will be able to join different factions, which is another major gameplay element taken from The Elder Scrolls. To be honest, though, all Howard had to say wasStarfieldis likeSkyrimto persuade a lot of impatient Bethesda fans.
Also, while Howard isn’t willing to give away any ofStarfield’s secrets yet, he does offer some questions that he thinks fans should be asking.Starfieldwill be delivering on ideas like, “What’s out there?” and “How do we get here?” in reference to looking out towards space. Suffice to say, the questions that players are asking arequestions that Bethesda wants to answer inStarfield.
Howard even goes so far as to say that Bethesda is really getting into thescience ofStarfield. And not just the science, but also the religion of traveling and exploring in space, too. Howard compares it to how other mediums think about those “big questions,” and saysStarfieldwants to do that, too.
Clearly,Starfieldhas lofty aspirations. Howard also makes clear thatStarfieldwill remain grounded, too. He describes how the trailer has a lot of really fine detail to show how much characterStarfieldhas, so every place feels lived in. He also saysTom Cruiseisn’t inStarfield, which may not be an answer to a big question but does get one small one out of the way. Needless to say, Bethesda is thinking about everything, but Bethesda has promised big and struggled to meet those heights before.
Starfieldreleases August 10, 2025, on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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