Starfield Becomes Bethesda’s Biggest Launch Ever

I make it no secret about what I love: Sci-fi, biscuits (not the American interpretation), Fallout 4, lots of food, then probably more sci-fi. What did Bethesda go and do this week (and last if you paid more)? They released Starfield, the sci-fi Fallout game that everyone and their mother has been excited for, only to be given the score that really sells a game to me better than a 10, a 7. I may not be the only one to disagree with the likes of IGN (shocker), since a metric ton of (it’s only 0.02 of a difference) players already played.

According to the studio’s social media accounts (including the ex-bird app), 6 million players have jumped into the Starfield on their quest to be the hero of Canton. Not only 6 million players, but 6 million in such a short time frame: “[M]aking it the biggest Bethesda game launch of all time,” as the post notes. Of course, we don’t have all the numbers to corroborate that but we do know since its early release last week, a quarter of a million players have been playing on Steam basically around the clock. Steam isn’t the only indicator as many jumped on and gave it a try via Game Pass in the last couple of days since its general release.

As of this morning, #Starfield has already surpassed 6 million players, making it the biggest Bethesda game launch of all time. pic.twitter.com/4yZa1lAYjW

— Starfield (@StarfieldGame) September 7, 2023

I’ve had those playing hooky from work to play endlessly talk my ear off about its early plot points and how they are excited. There really is nothing like getting a sense that someone doesn’t want to talk to you and would rather be playing a game. Joking aside, it seems like another example of Skyrim, though this time I’m in on the loop and experiencing all the chatter myself. That doesn’t surprise me though, as Phil Spencer tweeted earlier this week that 1 million concurrent players were playing across all platforms (Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, and Steam).

If you’re like me and have been playing tentacle games for review, that number is still to go up as some of us are yet to head out into the Starfield (what they call space) and plot our own journey. By all accounts that I’ve heard, I’m going to love it when I get there. Chances are most players will as well, be it as diplomats turned space murderers or murderers turned miners turned murderers again once the call to action has hit. After all the mess that Xbox has had this year with Redfall, this is a well-deserved win for Bethesda and by publishing association Xbox too with Starfield.