Starfield is more Oblivion than Skyrim, says Phil Spencer

Starfield has been compared to Oblivion by Xbox head Phil Spencer, which explains the return of the adoring fan.

Bethesda’s upcoming space exploration game is less than two weeks away from launching exclusively for Xbox and PC, and fans couldn’t be more excited.

Check out Starfield's latest trailer below.

Many have been comparing the game to Fallout or Skyrim but in space instead, and while that comparison is certainly accurate given the fast-paced gunplay and enormous map sizes, the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, believes it’s more like The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion.

Spencer recently spoke about the game during an interview with IGN at this year’s Gamescom, shared by SeriousEar2971 on Reddit, and said they’d played around 200 hours so far across several playthroughs. They went on to say: “I think it’s more Oblivion than Skyrim… It is an epic, epic game.”

That would certainly explain the surprising reincarnation of the adoring fan, an NPC that would become your obsessive friend after becoming the Grand Champion in the Arena. Depending on which background you choose for your Starfield character, a new adoring fan will appear in New Atlantis to annoy you all over again.

Regardless, fans were delighted to hear the comparison with Oblivion considering the incredible story and side quests featured in the game.

“Skyrim improved on Oblivion in terms of gameplay, but the writing and quests were much better in Oblivion, and the RPG systems were more complex. Considering the combat of Starfield looks fantastic, implying heavier RPG systems and stronger quests is music to my ears," said one fan.

“This is actually great to hear for me. Oblivion was....jank, but it's my favorite out of them all because it balances the RPG and the casual parts better than the others," said another. “Well those are some PR words that really clicked with me. Oblivion is the best interactive fever dream in media," read one comment.

Players will have a lot to do when Starfield launches next month. While the main story takes around 30-40 hours to complete, fans are preparing to sink thousands more into galaxy exploration. Bethesda has also promised there’ll be an “astonishing” amount of side quests to keep players occupied for a while.

Starfield launches on 6 September for Xbox and PC. Fans who bought the Constellation Edition of the game will be able to play on 1 September via early access.