Starfield is one of “five or six” games, Todd Howard said in an interview after extensive attention has been paid to the latest Bethesda role-playing game. The Starfield Direct follows the Xbox Games Showcase on June 11, and it gave Bethesda fans more to look forward to from the studio’s next game, with Howard revealing more details.
Bethesda has been keeping quiet about its next big role-playing game ahead of the Xbox Games Showcase and Starfield Direct on June 11 to compete with IPs like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. Since so little was known about the game prior to the event, the gameplay showcased was full of mechanics and features for fans to learn more about before the game’s September release. During the panel following the Starfield Direct, Todd Howard revealed more, such as how the game will run on the Xbox Series S, and confirmed more in a sit-down interview with IGN.
While discussing the many factors that make StarCraft stand out from Fallout and Skyrim, Howard revealed the work Bethesda has done to expand player freedom and creativity. According to Howard, Starfield is like “five or six” games rolled into one, combining spaceship simulation, ground travel, dialogue systems, outpost building, and the crafting elements of the game into one package. Howard didn’t say whether StarCraft is better than other Bethesda titles like Skyrim, but he did highlight how much work the developers have put into making sure the flow of the game works as players move from one experience to another.
When Howard explained how the various elements come together in Starfield, he clarified that while much development has been done to differentiate each system, they are not different games to the player. Since there are different ways to play the universe with these different features, Howard also confirmed that he is testing as many aspects of the game as possible, with the latest focus on spaceships. Given that previous Bethesda games like Fallout 4 and Skyrim have included similar mechanics like dialogue and crafting, Howard may just be suggesting that Starfield has more to it than the other games.
Since Starfield has experienced some delays since Bethesda’s announcement, each of the different types of games under its umbrella will likely benefit from the extra time. Given that certain activities are tied to things in other Bethesda games, such as crafting in Skyrim and settlement building in Fallout 4, some players may see overlap with older games when exploring Starfield’s universe.
Starfield launches for PC and Xbox Series X/S on September 6.