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Starfield turned quite a few heads when Bethesda announced it back during E3 2018. For many years, there was little information about this game until the gameplay reveal back during 2022. After several delays, Starfield has finally gone gold and will be in the hands of players across the world in just a few short weeks. With the game now finished and being printed onto discs, that means that preload is imminent.
For Xbox players, preload has begun now. Unfortunately, players who pre-ordered on Steam will have to wait a little bit longer before they can preload this highly anticipated sci-fi RPG adventure. But in the meantime, here is how to preload in order to be ready for day one.
How to Preload Starfield
While it should be obvious, the first step for preload is for players to make sure that they have pre-ordered Starfield. If players have done this prior to August 17th, Starfield will automatically begin to preload on Xbox. If the preload doesn't begin for some reason, players can start it manually by checking for updates. For players that have a PC that is powerful enough to play Starfield, they can also preload the game right now if they have pre-ordered the game on Xbox. The reason for this is because of the Xbox Play Anywhere feature that grants players the ability to play digitally purchased games on both Xbox platforms and Windows 10/11 PCs.
Speaking of which, PC players may need to manually preload Starfield if it doesn't automatically start. On the left side of the Xbox App on PC, players will see Starfield listed, and it will say "Update Required". Click on it and the update should begin.
How Much Space is Required for Starfield?
Regardless of what platform players will be playing Starfield on, they will want to make sure they have enough space. Starfield is a large game and will require a hefty 125 GB of storage space. If players do not have enough storage space left, Starfield will not be able to preload. For both Xbox and PC, it is possible to expand storage. Alternatively, players can also uninstall a game or two, and they should have plenty of space for Starfield. Since Starfield has such a large file size, it will take some time to download depending on what kind of internet players have.
When Will Starfield Be Available For Preload on Steam?
Unfortunately, Steam players will have to wait for nearly two more weeks until they can preload Starfield. The exact date for preloading Starfield on Steam is August 30th, which is going to be one day prior to the start of Early Access for players that pre-ordered the Premium Edition of Starfield. Unfortunately for Steam players that have a slower internet connection, this may mean that they could miss out on some of the Early Access period.