This past week Microsoft put the spotlight on Starfield, Bethesda's upcoming open-universe RPG. Not only did Starfield receive the prime position at this year's Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, but Bethesda's Todd Howard has been set loose to talk about a variety of Starfield-related subjects. One of those subjects is how Bethesda plans to support Starfield post-launch. Unsurprisingly, but still excitingly, Howard confirms that Starfield plans to follow in Skyrim's footsteps with post-launch content and support for modding.
To start with Howard's comments on official post-launch content, in an interview with IGN the Bethesda boss was asked how he plans to keep Starfield content fresh over a long period of time. Howard acknowledged how The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim is still being played by many fans 10 years running. They take a break and then return when there's "extra content" to play. With that in mind, Howard confirms that Bethesda has plans to release similar "extra content" for Starfield.
Regarding modding, Howard ties in player-made content as another example of what brings players back long after a game's release. A thriving modding community is another way of keeping a game fresh. That's what Howard says Bethesda is going to ensure that Starfield is "going to be a dream" for its modding community. He characterizes this as Bethesda providing "so much" for modders to do in-game, though he doesn't get specific. Perhaps he's referring to the 1,000 explorable planets available for modders to build on.
While Howard isn't able to get specific with any details at this point in time —Starfield is still a year away from release, after all— he does provide the answers fans want. He doesn't explicitly say Starfield will have expansions, but points to Skyrim's post-launch DLC model as an example of what Bethesda will be doing. He doesn't acknowledge what kind of modding support Starfield will have, but explains Bethesda has modding in mind and thinks Starfield will be rife with modding opportunities.
The lack of specificity for Starfield's post-launch support is bound to create some speculation, though. There are some questions about whether Bethesda plans to deliver a more live-service style of experience for Starfield than its prior games. Seasons of content, battle passes, and the like. Bethesda has experimented with monetization going back to Horse Armor DLC in Oblivion, after all.
With so much time between now and Starfield's launch, these are questions unlikely to be answered for some time. It's potentially true that these are decisions Bethesda hasn't even made yet. A year is a long time in game development, after all. Howard, at the very least, has provided a positive idea of Bethesda's plans for Starfield that fans can hold onto until the next news about the game breaks.
Starfield releases in the first half of 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN