Starfield becomes Bethesda’s biggest ever launch with 10 million players

Starfield, Bethesda’s first IP in over 25 years, has also become its biggest ever launch, with 10 million players so far enjoying the interstellar experience.

Starfield is Bethesda’s open-world RPG which launched on September 6. (Bethesda Softworks)

During the E3 presentation in 2018, Bethesda took to the stage and teased an open-world RPG set in space and called it Starfield. It would be the first IP developed by Bethesda in over 25 years. After years of anticipation, the developer finally launched Starfield on September 6 exclusively for the Microsoft Xbox and Windows. Despite not even one month elapsing since it was launched, Starfield is already being lauded as the game of the year by many, with high critic scores and rave reviews from players.

Bethesda's biggest-ever launch

This hype created by Starfield has created a bit of history for Bethesda as well. In an X post, Bethesda announced that Starfield has become the company's biggest launch ever with as many as 10 million players playing the game. “Thank you to more than 10 million #Starfield explorers for creating the biggest launch in Bethesda history”, Bethesda wrote.

Starfield is a role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios. In the game, a group of space explorers is on the hunt for the artifact that could unravel the mysteries of the Universe. Starfield promises an all-in-one package of exploration, combat, spaceflight, character creation, quests, and more. The game features over 1000 planets in 100 different star systems, all of which can be explored.

Congratulating the game's early success, the official account of Xbox commented on Bethesda's post, “Galaxy-sized congratulations, explorers”.

Early on in its development, Starfield was described as ‘Skyrim in space' by its director Todd Howard, which is a plaudit in itself. Starfield was not only made available for sale on September 6 but was also introduced on Xbox Game Pass as a Day 1 release, which might have contributed to the big numbers.

Why did it not launch on PlayStation?

Interestingly, at the game's first announcement, it was initially destined to be released on multiple platforms, including Xbox, Windows, and PlayStation. However, that did not occur mainly due to Microsoft's acquisition of ZeniMax Media, an American software company that owns Bethesda Softworks and Bethesda Game Studios. Thus, it was solely released on Microsoft-owned platforms as an Xbox exclusive.

No Man's Sky success

While Starfield has enjoyed a great deal of success early on, it has also resulted in a surge of players in another game - No Man's Sky. Hello Games' game offers a similar experience to players with one main difference - its availability. Unlike Starfield, No Man's Sky is available on all major platforms including PlayStation, therefore, players have been flocking to the game to get a Starfield-like experience.

In an X post, the game's developer announced, “7 years in and No Man's Sky is having its biggest month in the last few years! Across all platforms - PC, XBox, Gamepass, Switch, PlayStation, Mac and VR. Welcome to the community.”