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Starfield can expect to face stiff competition from Baldur's Gate 3. The latter can be safely dubbed as one of the largest releases this year. Straight out the doors of Larian Studios, the turn-based RPG has been shattering one record after another. Bethesda's space exploration title, on the other hand, is yet to go live, but there's already a lot of hype surrounding it.
Both games have been in the making for quite some time now and have a considerable fan following, with Baldur's Gate 3 currently experiencing a staggered release.
The PC version is already live, while the PlayStation 5 version is scheduled to be so on September 6. Interestingly enough, this also happens to be the date when Starfield is scheduled to go live. So how do these titles stack up against each other, and can one overshadow the other?
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Starfield vs Baldur's Gate 3 PlayStation 5 release could be a really close fight
Since its release, Baldur's Gate 3 has seen a steady influx of players. In fact, the game is so popular that it crossed the 600,000 concurrent player mark on Steam. At this point, it is the second-highest pre-ordered title on the PlayStation Store. These figures indicate that there's a lot working in favor of this title.
On the other hand, there's Starfield, a game that's been in the making for many years. Given the diverse customization options that it should offer, it could very much be the RPG everyone has been waiting for. Moreover, Bethesda has a knack for making good RPGs, Skyrim being a prime example. With Todd Howard in the driving seat for this title, there's very little chance of the game failing.
However, Xbox hasn't really had it well with its last few launches. In fact, Redfall was an absolute disaster. Although Bethesda wasn't the studio that developed it, it played a role with respect to publishing the game. Furthermore, Bethesda games are known to be plagued by bugs at launch, and Starfield could very well suffer the same.
Keeping these two factors in mind, there's a likelihood that Baldur's Gate could easily overshadow Bethesda's RPG with its PlayStation 5 release. Larian Studios has already shown that their game is well crafted, so there's no chance their PS port will be bad. Assuming everything goes right for both these platforms at launch, it will all boil down to each player's preference.
It's also worth noting that Larian's RPG was an instant hit, taking the market by storm. No one would have predicted that the title would grow in popularity so rapidly. In fact, the developers themselves were surprised when the title clocked in such high numbers.
On the other hand, Bethesda has been marketing Starfield as the next generation in RPGs. Given what they've shown so far, the game should meet the expectations of the player base and even surpass them. But it remains to be seen by what margin.
Could a platform-specific release play an important role with respect to the player count for Baldur's Gate 3 and Starfield?
The comparison between these two titles might be a little unfair, considering they're platform exclusives, at least for now. Baldur's Gate 3 might never be released on Xbox, while Starfield might not ever see a PlayStation release. Both these titles will be released on PC, so the performance benchmarks will be something to look forward to.
What makes this competition more interesting is the fact that Starfield will be available for free at launch on the Xbox Game Pass, whereas players will have to purchase Baldur's Gate 3. Although the latter has already gone live on PC and has proved that it's a well-made game, purchasing it for another platform with the hope that the port is fine is a gamble that many might not want to take.
Since Starfield is available for free on the Xbox Game Pass, it's something that players might consider because the commitment isn't that big. It will actually give everyone a fair idea of what they're stepping into and if they'd be okay with investing more in the game.
To conclude, both these titles appeal to different player bases. Although there might be some overlaps here and there, there's a 50-50 chance of Starfield being overshadowed by Baldur's Gate 3's PlayStation 5 launch. With the release date approaching in a few months, it will be interesting to see which of the two wins the public vote for the best game.
