Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG Starfield will feature an "adoring fan" character similar to the one from The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, as revealed in a new video with Todd Howard. The original Starfield release date had Bethesda's ambitious open world game launching in November, but the tough decision was made to push the game back to 2023 to allow for further polish. As Bethesda's first single-player RPG in years and first new IP in decades, there's a lot riding on Starfield's success.
Starfield looks to be breaking new ground for Bethesda, embracing its sci-fi theme by allowing users to travel across the galaxy in spaceships with the ability to visit thousands of planets. Starfield is bringing a lot of new ideas to the table, but it also has a lot in common with the Bethesda games that came before. Starfield gameplay videos have shown that the game is very similar to Bethesda's Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises in terms of core gameplay, though the similarities don't stop there.
Game director Todd Howard recently participated in a video interview that revealed more details about Starfield. Besides confirming that Starfield has more dialogue than any other Bethesda game before it, the video also touched on the various character traits that players can choose from in the game. One such trait is called Hero Worshipped, which states, "You've earned the attention of an annoying 'Adoring Fan' who will show up randomly and jabber at you incessantly. On the plus side, he'll give you gifts." Longtime Bethesda fans will recognize this as being a nod to the Adoring Fan from The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion.
In The Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, players can win the dedication of the "Adoring Fan," a creepy Wood Elf with bright blonde hair and an eerie smile plastered on his face at all times. The Adoring Fan starts following Oblivion players around after they've become Grand Champion in the Arena, though they are fairly useless as a follower. It's unclear if the Adoring Fan in Starfield will look similar to the one from Oblivion, but fans should find out more once they play the game for themselves.
Starfield is without a new release date at the time of this writing, but the game is expected to launch by next summer. It remains to be seen if it will actually meet that planned launch window or if fans will have to wait longer to play Starfield, but more information should come to light in the months ahead.
Starfield is in development for PC and Xbox Series X.