A week ahead of Starfield’s launch on PlayStation 5, it looks like Bethesda may have inadvertently confirmed wider plans for the game beyond future installments.
As spotted by X (formerly Twitter) user Timur222, it seems that a new press release from Jones Soda has confirmed that Bethesda thinks of Starfield as a “franchise”.
The press release, which covers Jones Soda’s rollout of Fallout drinks, to club stores across the United States and Canada, has seemingly referenced Starfield as a franchise. This has sparked conversation regarding Bethesda’s future plans for the game.
The information reads: “Bethesda Softworks LLC, part of the ZeniMax Media Inc. group of companies, is a worldwide publisher of interactive entertainment software. Titles published under the Bethesda label include such blockbuster franchises as The Elder Scrolls™, Fallout™, DOOM™, QUAKE™, Wolfenstein™, Dishonored™, The Evil Within™, Prey™, RAGE™, DEATHLOOP™, Ghostwire™: Tokyo, and Starfield™.”
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“Starfield is considered a franchise?” reads the comment from Timur222.
A lot of people are speculating whether this means Starfield 2 is on the way. The simple answer is, no, not yet.
Starfield doesn’t need multiple game entries in order to be considered a franchise. In addition to the game itself, there’s DLC expansions, merchandise, books, music, and other branded hardware filling the gaps. These are all components of a franchise that would qualify.
It doesn’t necessarily confirm that Bethesda is planning a new sequel to Starfield.
Bethesda’s Todd Howard has said there's a shift towards treating games like Starfield and Skyrim as lasting platforms, regularly adding content rather than immediately developing a sequel.
It does mean that Starfield is getting new DLCs and tie-in content, such as the upcoming PS5 release and Terran Armada expansion. Both will release on 7 April, 2026.
In an interview with Kinda Funny, Todd Howard spoke about Starfield, and what you can expect from the latest content. He said: "It is not Starfield 2.0 – I’ve seen some of that, and for expectation setting – I think it’s the kinda thing where – if you like Starfield, we think you’re going to love this. It’s updates and things that change the game, not in an isolated way, but you know ‘meta’ – using outer space and things in ways that we haven’t.
"But if Starfield is something that didn’t connect with you right away, or you bounced off it, or found it boring in places – I don’t think it’s going to change that fundamentally, but if you’re someone who loves Starfield and we think, we’re really happy with it."
Meanwhile, Bethesda’s development pipeline is in full swing with The Elder Scrolls VI. The game entered full production after the release of Starfield in 2023.
According to Bethesda, the game will be powered by Creation Engine 3 and is going to be “the ultimate fantasy-world simulator”, but it hasn’t got a confirmed release window yet, or even early footage.
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