Rumor: Starfield is an Xbox Exclusive, Aiming for Holiday 2021 Launch - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 May 2021 / 2,395 Views
Microsoft and 343 Industries are busy putting the finishing touches on its big Holiday 2021 game, Halo Infinite. However, it might not be the only big release for Xbox this holiday season.
Xbox insider Rand al’Tho in a recent Xbox Two podcast and transcribed by PureXbox said that Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda might pay off in a big way this year with the release of Starfield. He says the upcoming game will be an Xbox console exclusive and that development on the game is pretty much done with the focus now on fixing bugs.
"I’ve been told, by very reliable people that Starfield was 100% an Xbox exclusive," he said. "I’ve even made bets about it, and I don’t bet unless I know I’m willing to bet. So I’m really, really confident that Starfield is only releasing on Xbox when it does, and I’ve been told as well that Microsoft is trying their hardest to get the game out for this holiday. They really want Starfield out this holiday.
"The game’s basically sort of finished – it’s in bug squashing mode right now, very much like Halo Infinite, and it would be a big boon for Game Pass and Xbox if both Halo and Starfield could launch this fall."
As always this should be treated as a rumor until an announcement is made by either Microsoft or Bethesda. If the game is planned to release this holiday season expect to see the game at E3 2021 in June.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
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This will be a great experiment for MS since it's a new IP, they won't have the baggage of depriving Sony fans of a series they are used to enjoying, so they can avoid a lot of drama while at the same time get data on how well a huge game like this can perform on one ecosystem (PC + Xbox) and if the diminished sales are outweighed by increase in hardware sales and Gamepass subscriptions. This will give them excellent information which will help them make decisions on other series that do traditionally come to PlayStation/Nintendo.
It's just business though. I don't really understand the deprivation by a game being exclusive. Someone either wants the game enough to buy an xbox or they don't.
But it all comes down to what they want to do. For microsoft, it's probably good enough to sell games on other platforms but launch the game on gamepass simultaneously. If they were really interested in selling consoles, every Bethesda game will be xbox exclusive going forward.
But I think the plan is sell games on other platforms, but give them away through gamepass. So I'm leaning towards this rumor being untrue.
...........no. That's not what Phil Spencer said at all. His exact words were "if you're an Xbox customer, the thing I want you to know is that this is about delivering great exclusive games for you that ship on platforms where Game Pass exists." Xbox Series X/S are just one of the delivery methods for Game Pass. It's not about selling the most consoles anymore, it's about how many subscriptions can they get, getting you into the Xbox ecosystem any way possible.
Whatever platform Game Pass is on, whether that be Xbox consoles, PC, Xbox Cloud Streaming for iOS, Android, Web Browsers, and soon on Smart TV's, is where you'll be able to play games like Starfield. The only way any of these Bethesda games that aren't contractually obligated already can be played on PS5 or the Switch going forward, is if Sony and Nintendo agree to put Game Pass on their consoles. Which will most likely never happen.
All depends on how badly they want the games. I'm just looking at what happened with minecraft. They keep updating it. But they could have leveraged that for gamepass or xbox. They did neither.
All I'm saying is there is no guarantee of future bethesda games being exclusive. And if they are, so what?
But sorry if I misspoke? Xbox and gamepass are synonymous. The games aren't ported to phones and smart tvs. They're xbox versions being streamed. So I guess I should have qualified that? I thought it was implied. So yeah they still have pc versions for some games, but an xbox game is already a pc game essentially. They aren't drastically different.
True, but Minecraft was an already existing property. Microsoft has already said that any games that are already on different platforms like Minecraft, Fallout 76, Elder Scrolls Online, etc, basically any live service games, will continue to be updated and supported indefinitely on those platforms they're already on. As well as contractual obligations like Ghostwire: Tokyo, Psychonauts 2, and Deathloop will be honored. But any new games going forward, will be Xbox ecosystem exclusive.
Right, those versions are being streamed but that's what Xbox is wanting, their games on almost any device that isn't Sony or Nintendo owned. Once your games are nearly everywhere through a reasonable subscription model, it'll be easy to get PS5 or Switch gamers to get Game Pass one way or the other since an Xbox console isn't needed. Is it possible a game like ES6 can be multiplat? Sure, Xbox can do whatever they want, but no one should be surprised if it doesn't as it would be the equivalent of The Last of Us being available on Xbox.
Sure, and there is always a medium ground of launch console exclusivity with delayed release on Playstation. They can see how sales go and whether it's worth it or not. I really have no idea of their plans with this game, although I feel like they will approach each game individually. I do have hard time saying that this one game will somehow make the Bethesda aquisition "pay off in a big way", I think they the deal is overpriced and can't be easily paid off. Fiar to say that MS doesn't actually care about that, but then don't turn it around and claim it will actually be justified by that metric. I think the price was inflated by some old Bethesda IPs which I feel are played out, although the Id stuff I think was great deal because it's a great team whose IP aren't actually that huge and overpriced.
Microsoft is all about Game Pass. Phil Spencer made this clear already that Bethesda games that aren't under contract will be exclusive to platforms where Game Pass is. The only exemption I can see is their smaller/older titles going to Switch.
But exposure is important too. If elder scrolls 6 comes out only on xbox/gamepass, it won't get the same exposure as if it was also on playstation. We're already seeing a 2:1 ratio again for those consoles. So gamepass would look like a better deal than a ps5 plus a 60-70 dollar game.
I don't run the company, but having every Bethesda AAA game exclusive won't sell xboxes or gamepass as fast as they would like. Gamepass has value only in comparison to other ways of playing a game. Third party games are a weird exception compared to games like halo. There's already an established fan base on other platforms for bethesda games. Sure, if you want to play an exclusive game, you get the platform to play it. However, in the world of streaming and such, the exposure is worth having a game on another platform. It's like free advertising for gamepass. But maybe I'm wrong.
I hope so! This along with Halo Infinite would be huge boost for Xbox sales this Holiday.
At this point, this seems fairly obvious.
Would like to finally see gameplay.
If the game is basically done hopefully we get a big reveal at the E3 event.
Huge if true
Can't wait to see this game since we pretty much know nothing. I've been craving a sci-fi epic and Skyrim/Oblivion are in my Top 10 games of all time so this is bound to appeal to me.
I mean, it would be a colossal mistake by MS to wait until they finished the purchase to announce that this game is going to be multiplatform.
Not a surprise, although I was wondering if it was the case because it was pretty far into development by the time Microsoft attempted to purchase ZeniMax, but then again, we don't know how long those negotiations were in talks for. I'm on PC though, so I can't wait to play it and get some mods galore going! Hopefully we'll find out very soon when the game releases.
Wonder if this will fall into the same category as cyberpunk - much talked about & bug filled.
I also don't think it will be a mess. But just to play devil's advocate, CP2077 also had many years in development
ah I didn't know that they rebooted Cyberpunk development. That said, I think the most compelling reason it will be polished is that Fallout 76 damaged Bethesda's brand to a considerable degree. I think every now and then a good studio makes a broken turd on release, like CP2077, like Battefield 4, Like MCC. The pattern seems to be that they don't make the same mistake again.
Be on PC actually, well fairly sure. Cannot say I like their games much anyway, see what reviews say.
Xbox is on pc and mobile, so of course.
No chance halo and startfiled releasing in the same year
I highly doubt its coming out this year.
I think Xbox Exclusive means Xbox and PC these days. Ie. Xbox ecosystem
Indeed. I dunno. I'm quite permissive towards the "console exclusive" semantics because I think it does describe something concrete. Like it would be wrong to call Horizon: Zero Dawn or Halo multiplatform. But also wrong to call them true exclusives. in the "platform exclusivity" sense. But I take your point and this title could easily be misconstrued
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