"Over 1,000 planets to explore": Todd Howard gives an extended tour of Starfield at Xbox Bethesda Games Showcase

Bethesda’s upcoming space RPG, Starfield, got an extended showcase at the Xbox Bethesda Games event today. The expectations for the title have been sky-high since its initial announcement, and judging by the initial reactions to the showcase, Bethesda is on its way to delivering an unforgettable experience in 2023.

Touted initially as “Skyrim in space,” Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years will be a sandbox of player-created experiences, as has been the norm with Bethesda RPGs.

The gameplay footage showed the very initial part of the game, where the player lands on the mysterious moon of Kreet. Another portion of the footage also featured the sprawling city of New Atlantis.

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Starfield will feature over 1,000 planets to explore, along with multiple factions, settlement system, spaceship-building, and much more

Starfield is set 300 years in the future. After the initial encounters, like the one at the Kreet research Lab, players will be invited to join the Constellation, the last remaining group of space explorers. New Atlantis is where the player character will get to meet them.

While the game’s story still sounds rather abstract, from what little could be extracted from the trailer, the exploration of the Settled Systems and finding “what’s out there?” is definitely going to be the motto of the game.

The reveal not only chalked up the ambitious scope of the game but also went over the various gameplay mechanics. Much like Fallout 4, there will be a settlement-building system of sorts, with recruitable NPCs. You will also be able to build and customize your own spaceship, and from the looks of it, the options are aplenty; you can design your extraterrestrial vessel however you see fit.

Filled with different factions with varying goals and objectives in the world, the Settled Systems is certainly going to be an interesting journey for the player as they traverse through the expansive planets with manual space flights (yes, that was confirmed by the footage too!).

However, Bethesda head Todd Howard mentioned towards the end,

“But ultimately it’s not our story. It’s the story you create by who you are and the choices you make.”

Moreover, speaking of the endless possibilities with regard to Starfield, he said:

"You can land into Atlantis, but you can also land and explore anywhere on the planet. And it's not just this planet. It's all the planets in the system, from barren but resource-heavy ice balls to goldilocks planets with life. And not just this system, but over a hundred systems, over one thousand planets all open for you to explore."

The showcase also offered a detailed look at the character creation in Starfield. The customization aspect of the game seems to be the most fleshed-out among all Bethesda RPGs. Players will be able to pick up a background that will offer three starting skills.

Fallout 3 and New Vegas-style traits are also making a return. All of this is certainly an indication of how Bethesda is directing Starfield to be a role-playing game at its core.

Starfield is slated for release in 2023 on Xbox and PC. It will also be available on Day One on the Game Pass.

To learn more about the Summer Game Fest, announcements, and reveals, keep an eye out for Sportskeeda's coverage of the same here.