Starfield, Bethesda’s long-awaited science fiction RPG, could be released later this year, according to a journalist.
Jeff Grubb, a Venture Beat reporter with a known history of accurate leaks, appeared as a guest on the Dealer – Gaming channel on YouTube earlier this week. He claimed to know some new details about Bethesda’s plans for Starfield, claiming that the developer will reveal the space RPG later this year at E3 2021, before pointing to the end of the year.
Grubb says that Bethesda is aiming for a marketing cycle similar to that of Fallout 4. Back at E3 2015, Fallout 4 was officially revealed to the world for the first time, with Bethesda revealing that it would be released in just a few months later that year. Fallout 4 ended up being released in November 2015, giving the game less than six months from reveal to release.
According to Grubb, Starfield is targeting a release date in late 2021. Of course, the journalist claims that the only complicating factor is, of course, COVID-19, which could absolutely unbalance Bethesda’s best plans, depending on how the rest of this year will. While Grubb states that the current plan is to launch Starfield in late 2021, that could easily change as the year progresses.
This information really aligns with a rumor that circulated earlier this month. Previously, in March, a ResetEra user claimed that Bethesda was targeting a 2021 release date for Starfield, and this information was accurate “a few months ago”. This can all be slightly contradicted by Bethesda’s chief developer Todd Howard, who revealed that Starfield was still far from being released in November 2020.
At the moment, we do not know whether Microsoft’s purchase of Bethesda will affect the launch of Starfield. Although we know it was being developed as a next generation game, an earlier rumor stated that Sony had been negotiating a Starfield exclusivity period just a few months ago, which may well have been canceled due to Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda.
In the aftermath of the purchase, even PlayStation boss Jim Ryan was unsure whether Starfield and The Elder Scrolls 6 would come to PlayStation platforms. We’ll have to wait to see if Starfield will arrive on platforms outside of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and for more information on when the game will actually be released.
For a complete list of all the games that will definitely be released this year, go to our new games 2021 guide for more.