At E3 2018, Bethesda officially announced its sci-fi RPG Starfield, set to be the next game from the acclaimed Bethesda Game Studios team. Bethesda has revealed very little about Starfield since the game's official announcement, but it seems like fans will find out more about the game sooner rather than later. According to the latest rumors, the Starfield release date may be as early as later this year.
Industry insider Jeff Grubb, who has accurately leaked plenty of video game news in the past, has suggested that the Starfield release date could very well be later in 2021. Grubb believes that there is a 90% chance that Starfield will be featured at E3 2021, or whatever the equivalent is for Microsoft this year. He believes that after Starfield is revealed at E3 that the game will likely launch that November, though factors like the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could ultimately see it pushed back.
Grubb compared Bethesda's Starfield plans to how the company introduced Fallout 4 to the world. As some may recall, Fallout 4 was a major presence at Bethesda's E3 2015 press conference, with the company revealing all kinds of details about the game, followed by the surprising announcement that it would actually be available later that same year. It was a strategy that seemed to work for Bethesda, and so it makes sense that it would go back to that well again.
Microsoft and Bethesda will have an event this summer where game reveals will take place, though the companies stopped short of specifying exactly when that event will take place. With E3 returning this year as a digital event, many have assumed that the Microsoft/Bethesda showcase will coincide with E3 2021. However, it's always possible that the companies will do things on their own, and so fans will just have to standby for more concrete information.
Something that's unclear is if Microsoft and Bethesda will have a joint event this year, or if there will be separate presentations. Bethesda has a number of studios under its umbrella that all have games in various stages of development, so one would think that things might get a little tight if all of Bethesda's games had to compete with all of Microsoft's other games for showtime. Then again, this could ultimately result in a better-paced and exciting showcase, with some of the "filler" or less interesting games set aside for the more high profile titles.
In any case, if Starfield does launch this year, it will likely be an Xbox Series X console exclusive. Microsoft has outright said that its Bethesda acquisition was primarily done to get exclusive games for Xbox consoles as well as bolster its Game Pass lineup. So regardless of Starfield's exclusivity, Xbox Game Pass subscribers can look forward to playing the game on the day it launches at no additional cost.
Starfield is in development for unspecified platforms.
Source: Pure Xbox