Highlights
- Bethesda's Starfield is an ambitious game that offers players the chance to explore over 1,000 planets across a vast universe.
- Executives who have played Starfield early, such as Phil Spencer and Pete Hines, have logged significant hours in the game and still have more to discover, indicating its massive scale.
- Starfield will feature a New Game+ option with a unique twist that incentivizes continued and repeat play, adding even more replay value to the game's already massive world.
Bethesda's Todd Howard has confirmed that Starfield has New Game+. Bethesda's Starfield is an incredibly ambitious undertaking on the part of the studio, giving players the chance to explore over 1,000 planets across a vast universe. Starfield promises to be absolutely massive, yet there will still be some gamers that manage to see everything it has to offer and still be hungry for more adventures.
Some executives that have had the chance to play Starfield early have put significant time into the game, yet still have more to see and do. Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has reportedly logged about 200 hours in Starfield across various characters, while Bethesda exec Pete Hines has amassed around 160 hours in the game so far. While it remains to be seen how long it will take, one will eventually complete all of Starfield's main quests, faction quests, and important side quests. Yet they may want to continue their adventure without having to start a brand-new character from scratch.
Luckily for those gamers, it's been confirmed by GQ that Starfield will have a New Game+ option. GQ recently published an interview it conducted with Starfield game director Todd Howard. In the interview, it was confirmed that Starfield has a "unique and exciting twist" on New Game+ that will incentivize "continued and repeat play." Further details on Starfield's New Game+ feature were not revealed by GQ, so fans will have to wait to play the game for themselves to find out more.
The official Starfield release date is September 6, but early access is available on September 1. Anyone interested in Starfield early access will need to purchase the Premium Edition or Premium Edition Upgrade. Starfield's Constellation Edition also comes with early access, but it has been sold out and so unless one already has a pre-order secured, they will want to opt for the Premium Edition or Premium Edition Upgrade.
Even after Starfield comes out, it will likely take some time for players to find out exactly how New Game+ works. After all, New Game+ is uncharted territory for Bethesda, as its previous games did not offer the feature. Players will have to play through Starfield to see how Bethesda approaches New Game+, and it's unclear at this time exactly how long that will take.
Regardless, New Game+ should ensure that Starfield has even more replay value than Bethesda's other games, which is saying something. Even if New Game+ wasn't in the game, though, Starfield's massive game world should ensure that players are kept busy for a long time.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X.
Source: GQ