Starfield release date delayed: What it means for the fans

Starfield is among the most anticipated titles of the current gaming generation, and for good reason.

Developers Bethesda Game Studios have two in-house role-playing game series: Fallout and The Elder Scrolls. Both critically acclaimed games are long-standing franchises with installments dating back decades before. Fallout itself is a license acquired from Black Isle Studios, who made the first two games, thereby waylaying the world-building.

Not only is Starfield Bethesda's first new intellectual property in over 25 years, but it is also the first in-game world of their own making other than Elder Scrolls. While the launch of Skyrim and Fallout 4, for example, have piggybacked somewhat on the established prestige from previous titles, Starfield did not have that luxury.

As part of its marketing strategy, the game was thus symbolically placed on the pillar of Skyrim's success - sharing the same release date. Skyrim was released on the memorable 11.11.11, and Starfield would likely release in the equally catchy 11.11.22. That is until this week, when Bethesda announced that they would be pushing it to 2023.

As of right now, Starfield is bound for an indefinite release date mid-2023.

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The reason Starfield was delayed

On account of its uniqueness as a new IP, Starfield's ad campaign was different from previous major Bethesda releases like Fallout 4 or Skyrim. Instead of the usual routine of putting out promotional content six months before release, Bethesda announced the game back in 2018. By their own admission, the game was in development for years prior.

It would thus be a sensible assumption to think the game's production cycle is nearing its end in 2022. Despite this, the series of dev diary featurettes put out by Bethesda thus far do not directly tease any gameplay footage. The community can gauge how Starfield will play as a Bethesda first-person RPG, but has no actual showpiece to go by.

The scope for speculation this draught of gameplay showcase gave rise to may have been beneficial for it long-term, but on the flip side, it also highlights the sub-optimal state of the game. A contingent of the fanbase has begun to question whether the game meets the level of polish that a release candidate, rumored to be out this summer, should ideally encompass.

The fire was stoked further when a credible insider leak on the ResetEra forums painted a mixed picture of the current state of the game. While the poster, Hevy008, praised the strides made in the graphics of the game, they also expressed their dissatisfaction with the new engine.

As one can gauge from the community moniker 'Bugthesda', BGS products have always had a natural propensity towards bugs. Part of this can be explained away with how their rapidly expansive scale push the limits of the engine. A higher than usual level of bugs has been a consistent issue with nearly all major Bethesda titles since the inception of Gamebryo.

The current iteration of CE2 purports to elevate the capacity of the in-house Bethesda Game Studios engine. The visuals in the announcement trailer alone prove its possibilities in creating the most visually impressive Bethesda game thus far. However, the developers may also have underestimated the amount of time it would take them to iron out bugs in a game with such an ambitious scale.

Starfield may have missed their coveted 11.11.22 deadline, but in the long run, this is better for the game. If the Cyberpunk 2077 fiasco teaches a lesson, it is that despite the logistical issues and the dampening of hype, a delay is far better than a rough launch. After their many disastrous failings with Fallout 76, this is a risk Bethesda cannot afford to take on their biggest project yet.