Highlights
- Starfield's early access on Steam has been a big success, with a current player count of 205,792 and a peak of 234,502 in the last 24 hours.
- The game is available to play for just $34.99 through Xbox Game Pass, but many gamers have opted to pay $99.99 for the full Premium Edition on Steam.
- Once Starfield is officially released on September 6, even more players will have access.
Starfield is already a big hit on Steam, even though it's only available in early access at the time of this writing. As the latest game from Elder Scrolls and Fallout studio Bethesda, hype has been incredibly high for Starfield. The game's official release date isn't until September 6, but those willing to pay a bit extra have been able to get a head-start on their space-faring adventures.
Starfield early access is available to anyone that buys the more expensive versions of the game. The cheapest way to get early access on PC is by paying $34.99 for the Premium Edition upgrade and playing the game through the Xbox Game Pass app, but those that want to play it on Steam will have to pay $99.99 for the full Premium Edition of the game. It seems many gamers have opted to go the latter route, as Starfield has reached an impressive concurrent player count on Steam.
According to data from Steam DB, Starfield currently has 205,792 players live on Steam at the time of this writing, with 234,502 as its 24-hour concurrent player record peak so far. What makes this especially impressive is the fact that Starfield is readily available to play for just $34.99 through Xbox Game Pass, not to mention that the game isn't even technically out yet. The official Starfield release date is September 6, so it will be interesting to see if the game breaks its own concurrent player record come next week.
Right now, the only people able to play Starfield are those that have opted to purchase the $99.99 Premium Edition or, if they are playing through Xbox Game Pass, the $34.99 Premium Edition upgrade. Come the official Starfield release date on September 6, the floodgates will be opened, and many more players will suddenly get access to the game. Anyone with Xbox Game Pass will be able to play Starfield without paying a single dime more than what they already pay for their subscription fee. Furthermore, those on Steam will be able to get Starfield for $69.99 instead of $99.99, which could give the game a big player count boost.
Starfield reviews have been largely positive, and that could also play a role in getting more people to try out the open world space RPG. If previous Bethesda games are any indication, Starfield is likely to have serious legs as well, so fans can expect the game to be popular for years to come.
Starfield launches September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X.
Source: Steam DB