It’s been a rather busy week for Bethesda’s Starfield. From little to no information to numerous images from supposed 2018 build, there have also been rumors of a launch in Q1 2022. Some believe that it may already be done and releasing this year, especially with Microsoft reportedly trying its hardest for holiday launch.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem like it’ll be happening. Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier told readers to assume that “no release date is solid until the game is actually downloading on your console” due to COVID-19’s impact on the industry. Regarding rumors of the game releasing in 2021, he said, “Rumors like this keep floating around but Starfield is nowhere near done, according to several people familiar with development. It’ll be at E3 but the planned release date I’ve heard is way later than most people expect. Sharing this so that folks keep their expectations in check.”
As for why it has very little chance of releasing this year, Schreier noted that “the bulk of Bethesda Game Studios, including the MD [Maryland] office, was working on Fallout 76 until it launched. Starfield’s team was very small until 2019. Rumors that the game was planned for 2020 or far into production then are just not true.”
At this rate, it seems more or less a given that Starfield may be revealed at E3 2021, which takes place from June 12th to 15th. Microsoft and Bethesda have already confirmed their attendance though details on the content and length of their showcases has yet to be revealed. Stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks.