Bethesda Reportedly Chose Starfield's Release Date, Not Microsoft

Last week, Bethesda finally revealed the new release date of its upcoming space RPG, Starfield. The game was initially scheduled for release on November 11, 2022, however, the launch was later delayed to the first half of 2023. Now, the developer has announced that Starfield is coming on September 6, 2023.

According to recent reports, it was Bethesda, not Microsoft, who chose the release date for Starfield. The decision was reportedly made to give the developer enough time to ensure the game is in a satisfactory state before launch.

In a recent episode of VGC's podcast, journalist Jordan Middler reported that Microsoft is aware of the risks of releasing a game that could be seen as another "Cyberpunk" and has granted Bethesda and Todd Howard the freedom to choose the release date that best suits their needs.

"The date was always in flux, was always on Bethesda and Todd Howard to come to Xbox and say 'right let's do this' because Xbox is acutely aware they cannot Cyberpunk this," Middler says. 

He emphasized that Microsoft cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past, particularly given Bethesda's track record of releasing games that are notoriously buggy upon launch.

Starfield is highly anticipated as it's Bethesda's first original IP in over 25 years. It is a single-player game set in space that has been in active development for nearly eight years now. The game will be exclusive to Xbox and PC platforms. Bethesda is also working on the title Redfall, developed by subsidiary Arkane Studios, which is scheduled to release on May 2, 2023.

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