Starfield's PS5 release and second expansion set for 2026

As a brand-new sci-fi RPG from the studio behind The Elder Scrolls and the modern-day Fallout series, there was a lot of hype surrounding the launch of Bethesda's Starfield in 2023. With strong initial sales and mostly favorable reviews, the overall response to Starfield quickly shifted to a more mixed reaction from RPG and Bethesda fans alike, with many criticizing the game's overall archaic design, procedural exploration, and presentation.

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Since launch, player numbers for Starfield, at least on Steam, have dropped off faster than any previous Bethesda Game Studios release. Even the release of the Shattered Space expansion in late 2024 did little to renew interest in the game, where currently Bethesda RPGs like Skyrim and Fallout 4 consistently draw in more players.

With Microsoft and Xbox's exclusivity strategy changing rapidly since Starfield's debut, whether or not Starfield will make its way to PS5 has become more of a question of when rather than if. According to a new report at MP1ST, which cites sources close to the development team, Starfield's PlayStation 5 debut is on track for a Spring 2026 release - which will coincide with the launch of the game's second major expansion.

This would put the release of Starfield on PS5 somewhere in the first half of 2026, though we're assuming Microsoft won't be planning to launch the game or release the second expansion anywhere near Grand Theft Auto 6's May 2026 release. Although Starfield has its fans and detractors, not much is known about the game's second major expansion and what new systems and mechanics it will introduce.

It's also unknown if the expansion will overhaul aspects of the core game that have been criticized for not reaching the same heights as Skyrim and Fallout, namely exploration, crafting, and being able to discover cool hand-crafted content when landing on a planet. As Starfield is the first Bethesda game to skip PlayStation at launch, its PS5 debut should see it reach a considerably larger audience than it has on Xbox, so it does make sense to hold off until there's something new to release with it.