KEY POINTS

  • "Starfield" was announced at the E3 2018
  • Since then Bethesda has not yet released a major update about the game
  • Bethesda's Todd Howard recently offered fresh details about "Starfield"

Bethesda’s Todd Howard offered a new set of official details about the much-awaited space exploration title “Starfield,” which could be good and bad news for fans.

In an interview with James Batchelor of GamesIndustry.biz at this year’s Develop: Brighton conference, Todd Howard shared some fresh details about “Starfield”, which is the space exploration title currently in development at Bethesda Studios.

The director and executive producer at Bethesda Studios confirmed the upcoming sci-fi game would be a single-player experience. He also said since the game would be a first-party release, it would be available on Game Pass on day one.

Additionally, the executive mentioned “Starfield’s” game map would be the biggest the studio has made. To put it into perspective, Howard said that it would be even larger than that of “Fallout 76,” the current record holder in map size.

He got into the details of the map creation, which, according to him, would partly rely on procedural generation.

Elder Scrolls VI, Starfield
At this year’s E3 exhibition , Bethesda Studios officially announced "The Elder Scrolls 6" and "Starfield" steamXO/flickr

Bethesda has used procedural generation in its previous open-world games for landmasses that do not necessarily require a specific design. Usually, details within the game’s world are handcrafted. In other words, “Starfield” would not be randomly generated as the gamer plays it.

The Bethesda executive also mentioned the overhaul it made to its Creation Engine, which is crucial in the game’s development. The overhauled game engine helped the team create livelier cities because of improvements in AI, rendering and animations.

Howard also promised more immersive and lively-feeling locations in “Starfield” courtesy of the map’s massive size and the number of Non-Playable Characters (NPCs).

Howard mentioned these NPCs would play a larger role in the game. Unfortunately, the executive did not discuss whether “Starfield” would be an Xbox and PC exclusive title or whether it would also launch on the PS5.

For those wondering about the sci-fi game’s release date, Howard said "it is going to be a while". Bethesda would most likely announce the game’s release date and platform once it made sure there won’t be any delays.

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