Is Xbox’s ‘Starfield’ Going To Be Delayed Again?

Starfield

Bethesda

Yesterday, there were at least some gamers who were not paying attention to the expectations Microsoft set for the Xbox showcase, as they left the show wondering where Starfield was.

Microsoft has always said that Starfield was not going to be at this showcase, and would get its own standalone show later. But that doesn’t have a date yet, and of course, Starfield itself doesn’t have a release date either. Now, with news that Microsoft is releasing Redfall in May 2023, the question is whether Starfield is actually going to hit its promised “first half 2023” release date that Bethesda reiterated on its official game page just weeks ago.

All we know for sure is that Microsoft has teased a larger Xbox showcase for this summer, one that it always does during E3, as “what’s next for Xbox.” This is, however, separate from the Starfield showcase, which should be sooner. Some are predicting next month.

There are alleged insider reports that both Redfall and Starfield are not in the best of shape, coming from the same source who predicted the surprise Hi-Fi Rush launch, but you can take that with a grain of salt, and I mean, most AAA productions are messes to some degree and most have to pull things together at the last moment.

Starfield

Bethesda

Still, it just feels increasingly unlikely that Starfield will in fact be out in the first half of 2023 like they said, as now with Redfall in May, essentially the only option would be to release Starfield in June.

But…why would Microsoft bother doing that? In addition to stepping on Diablo 4’s launch (if that isn’t delayed) and being near PlayStation’s Final Fantasy XVI launch, why wouldn’t they just push Starfield to be a big holiday release, possibly the biggest of the season?

The potential is there for Starfield to arrive in September-November and not have all that much competition in the wider industry. There is no new fully new Call of Duty this year, supposedly. Sony’s Spider-Man 2 claims its coming out in by the end of 2023, but I would be shocked if it wasn’t delayed until spring 2024.

Plus, of course, you get what was essentially a full extra year to polish the game after it was supposed to release in November 2022. Granted, the optics of that don’t look great, but anything to avoid launching as the next Cyberpunk, plus, Bethesda games are not exactly known for releasing bug-free at baseline. I think Microsoft is growing impatient with Bethesda over Starfield, as they tried to set its original date in stone, and now we’re at minimum at a 7 month delay past that, going on a year, but it will do no one any favors to release a massive game like Starfield before its ready. And it’s hard to understate just how much is riding on Starfield for Microsoft, given that it will be the most significant release of its multi-studio acquisition plan, and likely its biggest release for the next few years, given what’s in the pipeline.

My guess is fall 2023 for Starfield. No June launch, no delay into 2024 either. But we’ll see, and hopefully will learn more at a showcase in the next month or two.

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