Bethesda’s upcoming RPGStarfieldhas been shrouded in secrecy. Besides its title and precarious position as Bethesda’s first new IP in over 25 years, very little has been confirmed about the game.
Although Bethesda has kept its cards close to its chest, there have been several reliable leaks sinceStarfield’s announcement at E3 2018. Here’s every leak and rumor aboutStarfieldso far that appear to reveal in-game mechanics, insight into the development process, and possibly even a release window for the space-set RPG.
RELATED:The Elder Scrolls 6 Has to Be Breaking the Oddest Video Game Record Ever
The First Three Images
Few things have been confirmed aboutStarfieldfor certain. It is known thatStarfieldwill be a purely single-player experience, and that it is currently the main focus at Bethesda Game Studios.
The first majorStarfieldleak was a series of images released onto Reddit by a throwaway account named Electrical-Ad-8659. The first image was of what appeared to beStarfield’s player characterstanding before a ship or building. The second image showed a side-on view of a spaceship, and the third image showed what appeared to be the UI’s compass.
These initial leaks caused a flurry of speculation. Many fans were quick to note that the building and ship shown in the screenshots looked as if they used some of the same modular settlement-building mechanics first introduced inFallout 4. This led many to speculate that the game would allow players to build their own bases and ships in a similar way.
The jetpack on the character’s back in the first image seems to show that players will be able to fly around in-game. This will be likely be affected by the gravity meter, which can be seen on the compass. This makes it seem likely thatBethesda’s physics enginewill have undergone a significant upgrade for the game. The Oxygen and CO2 meters on the compass seem to imply that survival mechanics will be integrated intoStarfield’s retail release, though how exactly they will work remains unknown.
The Fourth Image
This leak was followed by a fourth image, supposedly released by the same person behind the first three leaked images. This image led manyBethesda fansto double-down on the speculation surrounding settlement building mechanics, as it seemed to show a building which could easily be broken down into moveable modules. The UI on the bottom right also showed a classic Bethesda health and stamina bar setup, as well as an indication of the player’s weapons and ammo.
The authenticity of these leaks was seemingly confirmed by a logo seen on aBethesda employee’s shirtduring Todd Howard’s Brighton Digital 2020 presentation. The logo on managing director Ashley Cheng’s shirt matched the small logo seen on the right shoulder of the astronaut in the first round of Reddit leaks.
RELATED:Starfield is Probably Microsoft and Bethesda’s Big E3 2021 Play
The Fifth Image And Brighton Digital
A supposed screenshot was released by Twitter user andYoutuber Skullzi. While the screenshot is very visually impressive, it could easily be a fake with the compass edited in based on previous leaked images. One Reddit user claimed that the image was taken from free-to-play gameMyrdalssandur, Iceland, a VR experience which lets players explore the country’s south coast.
More information aboutStarfieldwas released byTodd Howard during Brighton Digital 2020. Howard mentioned that bothStarfieldandThe Elder Scrolls 6would make extensive use of procedural generation. Procedural generation is a technique where landscapes are automatically generated by a computer, and then detailed by developers. Procedural generation does not mean that every player will experience a different landscape, and the technique was used in other Bethesda games likeOblivionto help create the countryside.
Howard claimed that the technology had changed significantly since those days, however. Procedural generation will supposedly allow bothStarfieldandTES6’s citiesto be far larger than any seen in a Bethesda RPG before. Procedural generation will likely be key to helping Bethesda build large landscapes across multiple planets.
This has led to a lot of speculation about the overallsize ofStarfield’s in-game galaxy, though the fact that random generation is not involved makes it likely to be bigger than games likeSkyrim, but smaller than games with huge continually generating worlds likeDaggerfall,Minecraft, andNo Man’s Sky. Despite that, many fans are also hoping forNo Man’s Sky-style flight mechanics, with very little having been revealed about spaceflight and travel so far.
Release Window And Xbox Exclusivity
In early April 2021 rumors began circulating thatStarfieldcould still be slated for a 2021 release, despite so manygames being delayedover the past year. Youtuber MrMattyPlays reported that a contact at Bethesda told him that the studio still planned to releaseStarfieldby the end of 2021. As evidence he provided an image from Bethesda’s official website showing the game’s 2021 copyright reservation. Though this is not definitive proof of the game’s release window, many Bethesda games in the past have been released in the same year as their copyright reservation.
Adding to recent rumors, industry insider Rand al Thor spoke on the Xbox Two podcast, where he claimed that “very reliable people” had told him thatStarfieldis going to be an Xbox exclusive. This rumor has been circulating ever since Xbox announced its acquisition of Zenimax Media Inc, Bethesda’s parent company. Bethesda also recently confirmed that some future Bethesda titles would be Xbox exclusives.
Although the leaked images appeared to show an earlier stage of the game, Rand al Thor also claimed thatStarfieldis in a playable conditionand was currently in “bug squashing mode.” Rumors thatStarfieldwould release in 2021 have been seen before, most notably from Natedrake on the ResEtera forums.
IfStarfieldis going to release in 2021 that makes a full reveal atE3 2021this June seem likely. SeeingStarfieldin detail will finally confirm or debunk manyStarfieldrumors that have been circulating among Bethesda and RPG fans. Some have speculated that the upcoming game will have alien races and a third-person perspective, while other fans are cultivating their very ownStarfieldwish-lists. Many more will be looking forward to E3 now, where more details about the space-set RPG will likely be revealed.
Starfieldis in development.
MORE:The Elder Scrolls 6, Starfield, and Indiana Jones Could Be the Hat Trick Bethesda Needs
