The rumors are finally confirmed: Starfield will not be coming to Playstation, and will instead release only on Xbox and PC. This news comes after months of speculation following Microsoft’s acquisition of Zenimax Media, Bethesda’s parent company, back in March. After we got our first look at Starfield at Xbox’s E3 press conference, this news has come as shock to many Playstation users who expected the major title to release on all platforms. This isn’t the only exclusive coming to the system, either. Redfall, Arkane studios new co-op vampire shoot-em-up, is also coming to Xbox exclusively. It’s also more than possible that the much awaited Elder Scrolls VI could take the same route and pass by Playstation users.
Playstation is no stranger to console exclusives, and still boasts some of the best exclusive experiences on the market. With major titles like Rachet and Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal, Final Fantasy XVI, and the unnamed God of War sequel, the PS5 has more than enough exclusivity to show off. However, Bethesda is a major developer, and PS5 owners are worried that they might not get the chance to enjoy the next big titles coming out soon.
In response to upset gamers, Pete Hines publicly apologized for the game’s exclusivity during an interview. Check out his apology below.
I don’t know how to allay the fears and concerns of PlayStation 5 fans other than to say, well, I’m a PlayStation 5 player as well and I’ve played games on that console and there’s games I’m gonna continue to play on it, but if you want to play Starfield, PC and Xbox, sorry. All I can really say is ‘I apologize’, because I’m certain that’s frustrating to folks. But there’s not a whole lot I can do about it.
As unfortunate as this may be for Playstation users, Todd Howard is reportedly still confident that this decision will bring “more games to more people” according to Kotaku. He also promised that this helps with “streamlining development” to create a better product overall since Bethesda now only needs to worry about developing a single version of the game instead of separate versions for Xbox and Playstation.
Despite these controversies, Starfield is still shaping up to be one of the biggest releases of 2021. You can keep up with Starfield’s development here on Mxdwn.