Starfield factions and branching paths teased by Bethesda

Yet another Starfield tidbit has found its way out into the world. Bethesda appears to be teasing that the game will feature factions and branching paths.

Already we know that Starfield is set to have over 1,000 planets so understandably, you won’t be shocked to discover that it boasts a hefty file size. Only 10% of planets actually contain signs of life though, which may be a relief to you. The other 900 will have valuable resources though so there’s plenty of exploring to do. The game’s Star Map is an absolute whopper, while New Atlantis is the largest city that Bethesda have ever created. If you’re an Xbox Game Pass subscriber, you can pre-download the game so you’re ready to dive in on release day. Now, we’re beginning to learn more about possible factions and branching paths in the game.

Take a look at Starfield’s latest trailer below.

As pointed out by Inverse, three new animated shorts posted by Bethesda each seem to indicate a different kind of in-game branching path. Let’s start with Supra Et Ultra, which is Latin for above and beyond. The short follows a man who arrives on New Atlantis which, if you didn’t know, is home to the Vanguards. The Vanguards are a military branch of the United Colonies and one of Starfield’s major factions. The man is inspired to join the Vanguards and we see him growing rich via his newfound role as a space coloniser.

Next up, we have Where Hope Is Built. This story centres around Vanna, a young orphan mechanic who’s seen fixing a ship as she hopes to follow in her parents footsteps. It’s revealed that her parents were previously mech pilots. Vanna sets out to find a certain repair part, and thus embarks on a new adventure.

Finally, The Hand That Feeds is set in the city of Neon, where two thieves reside and make their living. In the film, they come into contact with an Ryujin Industries official. A fight breaks out but the duo determine that they could use the official as leverage.

Across all three films, the Vanguards and Ryujin Industries are laid out as two major factions, plus we see ordinary people in the occupations of mechanic, thief, and transport worker. It stands to reason that we’ll be able to, in some way, perhaps embody these roles ourselves. We can’t wait to dive into Starfield on 6 September.