In fact, Bethesda first sought to trademark the Starfield name a decade ago, and teased the game in a brief trailer five years later in 2018. Bethesda describes Starfield as its “first new universe in over 25 years.”īethesda was already well on its way toward developing it when Microsoft acquired its parent company ZeniMax Media for $7.5 billion in 2021. Much of the anticipation centers on the past commercial successes of Microsoft-owned Bethesda Softworks, the studio behind long-running series such as Doom, Elder Scrolls and Fallout. “Starfield may have the potential to be as big or bigger than” popular games on rival platforms, especially thanks to the strong track record of the studio that made it, Piscatella said. The release could be one of the most important in Xbox’s history as it looks to attract gamers with a headliner on par with Nintendo’s latest Zelda game and PlayStation’s upcoming Spider-Man 2, said Mat Piscatella, a game industry analyst for market researcher Circana.Īfter months of watching Nintendo’s Switch console and Sony’s PlayStation steal the momentum in a lagging market - with boosts from Hollywood adaptions of Nintendo’s Super Mario and the PlayStation exclusive Last of Us - Microsoft could use a blockbuster to drive sales of its Xbox consoles and its monthly game subscription service.

Microsoft gave its most detailed glimpse of the upcoming game at a Los Angeles event Sunday.

Players must fend off pirates, navigate strange moons, build outposts and fix their own starships in a space epic that is due out on Xbox in September after years of development and delay. One small step for an intrepid crew of 24th century space explorers could be a giant leap - or flop - for Microsoft when the Xbox-maker launches its long-awaited video game Starfield.

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