'Starfield' Will Have Dizzying Number Of Planets To Explore

Yesterday during the Xbox and Bethesda Showcase 2022, gamers were finally treated to a first look at Starfield - Bethesda’s highly anticipated space-themed RPG. Alongside a look at the game in action, we were also spoiled with a wealth of information about the title.

This didn’t stop people from pointing out the undeniable fact that Starfield looks an awful lot like another game that’s already out in the wild - Hello Games’ No Man’s Sky. In fact, a post saying this currently has over 60 thousand upvotes on reddit, proving that the hive-mind certainly joined the dots there.

Make your own mind up by watching the gameplay reveal of Starfield below.

While we don’t know how much inspiration Bethesda took from No Man’s Sky, we do know that the game will have a heavy emphasis on exploration, crafting, customisation and base-building. One remarkable thing we learned is that there will be over 1000 explorable planets in 100 star systems which, when you consider the game has been heavily compared to Skyrim in the past, must have fans daydreaming about just how long they’re going to spend roaming around. 

But what will these planets be like? Starfield game director Todd Howard took to the stage during the conference to explain. To make a long story short, there will be a real mix of “barren, resource-heavy” planets to rich, densely populated ones and everything in between. What’s more, you’ll be able to land anywhere you please on these rocks, and won’t be tied to designated spots like the city of New Atlantis we see in the gameplay up above.

The base-building aspect looks a little like Fallout 4’s settlement mechanics, as pointed out by GameSpot, and players will be able to plonk down and set up shop anywhere they like on any planet. Outposts will be used not only as a base, but also as a place to gather resources in order to create and customise bits and bobs. NPCs you meet along the way can also be hired to staff these Outposts for ultimate productivity. Industrialism in space! You love to see it.

Starfield has been pushed back ever so slightly to an early 2023 release window on PC, Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. No doubt we’ll get more information on the game between now and then, so keep it glued right here.