Starfield is 'nowhere near done,' team was small until 2019

Bethesda's new singleplayer space epic Starfield won't release in early 2022.

Sources tell Bloomberg's Jason Schreier that Starfield, Bethesda's biggest new RPG, is "nowhere near done" and gamers shouldn't expect a release any time soon.

Although Bethesda's Todd Howard first teased Starfield when he described three "big and crazy projects" in 2016, Schreier asserts that Starfield's team was quite small until 2019. The reality is that Bethesda's main Maryland branch was helping its Austin studio work on Fallout 76's development. Those three projects that Howard spoke of ended up being Fallout 76, Starfield, and The Elder Scrolls VI.

Before today's news drop, reports indicated Starfield could release in 2022, possibly on 2/22/22. We shouldn't expect this to be the case. The game is still expected to be a Xbox and PC exclusive that skips PlayStation platforms.

Starfield will be at E3 2021, but Bethesda may not reveal a release date--possibly a tentative release window. Remember that Bethseda Game Studios is currently overhauling the internal Creation Engine for next-generation consoles. Coupled with COVID-19's work-from-home restrictions, this engine overhaul may have pushed projects back a fair bit.

"Rumors like this keep floating around but Starfield is nowhere near done, according to several ppl familiar with development. It'll be at E3 but the planned release date I've heard is way later than most people expect. Sharing this so that folks keep their expectations in check,"Schreier said today on Twitter.

"What people might not realize is that the bulk of Bethesda Game Studios, including the MD office, was working on Fallout 76 until it launched. Starfield's team was very small until 2019. Rumors that the game was planned for 2020 or far into production then are just not true."

"Let me make this very clear: Bethesda's plan is to tease a release date for Starfield at E3. That date is in *late* 2022. I'll leave the specifics to them. But please keep your expectations in check and refrain from sending death threats when the other rumors turn out to be false"

What we know about Starfield so far:

• May be Xbox and PC exclusive and skip PlayStation hardware
• Todd Howard described it as a "big and crazy project" as early as 2016
• Brand new IP, will be a singleplayer space epic
• New leaked images show third-person and first-person views
• Concept art leaked out
• Will run on a massively overhauled Creation Engine
• Bethesda consulting Elon Musk on the game