Xbox and Bethesda want Starfield to be the longstanding hit Skyrim has been, but right now I’m unsure if they can pull it off. Well, head of Xbox Phil Spencer says as much at CCXP 2023, comparing the longevity of Skyrim to the plans Bethesda currently has for Starfield.
Spencer was asked during the CCXP panel, which you can watch in full below, if he and Bethesda want Starfield to be a longstanding 12-year RPG game hit like Skyrim is, and his answer was a resounding yes.
“That’s our goal,” Spencer begins. “Skyrim is such an amazing hit from Bethesda Game Studios, and talking to Todd Howard and the team what they wanted to do as people who love space and space exploration is give them that same opportunity [as Skyrim].
“So we’ve already announced that we’ve got our next expansion coming, Shattered Space. We’ve already told the community that they’ll get all the modules that they need, so they can go and create their own content in Starfield, which has been so important to Skyrim. So a tonne of confidence that for many, many years, Starfield sitting very high in the gameplay.”
Spencer also adds that Starfield has had “over 12 million players” since release and that it’s one of Xbox’s first-party studios’ ten most played games (via Idle Sloth on X), so I can see where the confidence comes from.
That said, even if I admire Spencer’s smooth plugs of both the Starfield Shattered Space DLC and upcoming official mod support, I’m still not entirely convinced the game will hold the same ground as Skyrim. In fact, I just talked about how the lukewarm response to Starfield shows how the longevity of the game relies on mods, more than Skyrim ever did.
While Game Pass has made it infinitely easier to pick a game like Starfield up, it’s also made it infinitely easier to put down whenever you want. You’ve not invested $60 in Starfield if you’re a subscriber, instead, it’s just a nice bonus. So if you don’t like the game there’s no sunk cost in continuing to play, you can just put it down and move on.
On the topic, we’ve got everything you need to know about Starfield mods, Starfield ships, and even Starfield romance if you’re feeling up to it.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.
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