Summary
Starfieldcreative director Todd Howard has provided a host of encouraging updates on the game, mainly regarding its player count, future story expansions, and the upcomingShattered SpaceDLC’s design approach. Bethesda has been firing on all cylinders lately in regard toStarfield’s post-launch support, with big updates, Creation Club content, and the aforementioned story DLC launching in fall 2024.
Starfield launched in September 2023 as Bethesda’s first foray into the space exploration subgenre, allowing players to explore 1,000 planets scattered across 120 systems. While the ambition was sky-high, reviewers noted that the expansive RPG’s underlying design felt somewhat dated, loading screens were aplenty, and performance was capped at 30fps on Xbox consoles. Thankfully,Starfield’s jam-packed May 2024 updatenot only introduced a 60fps performance mode on Xbox Series X/S, but also big revamps for maps, ship decorations, difficulty settings, and more.
Bethesda didn’t stop there, as it shadow-dropped anotherhuge update forStarfieldat the Xbox Games Showcasealongside the formal reveal of theShattered SpaceDLC, which is slated to release later this year. Speaking in a recent interview withMrMattyPlays on YouTube, director Todd Howard confirmed more details aboutShattered Space, stating that development on the expansion started between August and September 2023, but more importantly, it will be an entirely handcrafted location as opposed to the base game’s reliance on procedural generation.
Bethesda is Planning More Yearly Expansions for Starfield
Howard also revealed that Bethesda is currently planning “Year 2” updates forStarfield, likely including a new story DLC. Additionally, the director confirmed that the team is looking to bolsterStarfieldwith annual story expansions for as long as possible, before disclosing that over 14 million players have experienced the game. Bethesda last announced 13 million players forStarfieldback in December 2023, which has now been topped asStarfield’s player count has seen steady growthafter the barrage of recent updates.
While the updated player numbers are a good indicator ofStarfield’s upswing, several fans will no doubt be more excited about the confirmation of tailor-made environments forShattered Space. Theprocedural generation inStarfieldwas a double-edged swordas it offered a huge breadth of planets to explore, but according to many, lacked the depth expected from a full-fledged Bethesda RPG. Having been in development for around a year,Shattered Spacewill seemingly be a more focused experience that is poised to deliver on what Bethesda does best: world-building.
