So you want to know about Starfield’s cities? If there’s one thing we do know about Bethesda’s highly anticipated RPG game is that there will be cities. Four main cities, to be precise, although we’re not sure how many minor settlements and stations will be scattered among the space game’s 1,000+ planets.
While more information has been revealed thanks to the recent Xbox and Bethesda showcase, we’ll find out more about Starfield cities and the rest of the game as we get closer to the Starfield release date in 2023.
Neon, Akila, and New Atlantis are three locations that have all been given ‘location insight’ developer videos. These short vignettes are light on in-game footage, but do feature Starfield design director Emil Pagliarulo giving viewers some insight into each city, what the settlement’s primary purpose is, along with some backstory. Here’s everything we know about Starfield cities so far.
These are the known Starfield cities:
- New Atlantis
- Akila
- Neon
New Atlantis
This is the capital of the United Colonies, as well as the headquarters of Constellation – the last group of explorers and the group that drives Starfield’s main story quest.
In an interview with IGN, Todd Howard states that there are four “main” Starfield cities, and that New Atlantis is one of them, as well as “the biggest in the game and the biggest we’ve ever built – it’s kind of the capital in the game.” It will have every service and utility the player will need, and we’re treated to several in-game shots during the recent gameplay reveal.
The concept art from the previous developer video shows a highly urbanised area at night, with tall buildings and lots of activity. New Atlantis is said to be home to people of nearly every race, creed, and ethnicity.
Akila
This is the capital of the Free Star Collective, another major Starfield faction that represents a loose confederation of settlers across three star systems. Concept art of the city shows a relatively flat and rugged settlement that’s nestled among mountains – it’s reminiscent of somewhere like Reykjavík in Iceland or the Mongolian Plateau.
Pagliarulo says in the video that “the city itself is home to a variety of people, but they all have one thing in common – they believe in the sanctity of personal freedom and individuality.”
The video also mentions that Akila city is walled – the implication is that these defences are to keep out a local alien predator that’s “a cross between a wolf and a velociraptor”. We’re given a brief glimpse of Akila city during the extended gameplay trailer released during Summer Games Fest, although you don’t see much.
Neon
This is described as a “pleasure city” and is located on an unnamed aquatic Starfield planet that wasn’t originally considered important beyond its bounty of seafood. The city started life as a major fishing platform for the XenoFresh Corporation, until they discovered one of the local species had psychotropic properties.
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The corporation then realised they could make more money selling drugs made from this fish, then selling the fish for food. The drug is called Aurora, and it’s only legal within Neon, and so the platform was repurposed to become a hub for tourism and drugs. Mainly drugs.
Pagliarulo states that “people from all over come to experience [Aurora] and everything else Neon has to offer.” The concept art shows a massive structure sitting atop pillars in the middle of an ocean, with a large, bulbous outer shell on top of the platform.
And that’s everything we know about Starfield cities so far. If you don’t think you’ll be able to afford the new open-world game when it releases, we have some good news – Starfield will be on Game Pass from day one. We also have guides to what we know about Starfield traits, and Starfield ship design so far, if you’re curious.
