Summary
Bethesda’s Head of Publishing Pete Hines hints that there’s still tons to do inStarfield,even after finishing the main quest. As Bethesda’s behemoth space-faring RPG nears its September 6 release date, Todd Howard and Pete Hines have been appearing on interviews and podcasts, with Howard even recently taking the stage at Geoff Keighley’s Gamescom Opening Night Live to unveilStarfield’s live action launch trailer.
Starfieldhas been touted by Bethesda Game Studios and Todd Howard as perhaps the most ambitious western RPG ever made. As the legendary RPG studio’s first original IP and its first traditional single player game since 2015’sFallout 4,Starfieldhas been garnering a ton of hype and attention from the gaming world, as it’s become one of the most highly anticipated games coming out in an already stacked 2023. What tookStarfieldto the next level was Todd Howard’s reveal that the space RPG will feature over 1,000 fully explorable planets. This inevitably kick-started comparisons to Hello Games' much improvedNo Man’s Sky.However,Starfieldplans to set itself apartwith its commitment to realistically populated worlds, intricate factions and companions, and what’s being called by another Bethesda executive the studio’s best main quest narrative ever.
RELATED:Starfield Said To Be More Like Oblivion Than Skyrim
On Twitter, Darrius Fears posted a clip of an interview Bethesda’s Pete Hines had recently done. In it, Hines calls back to a conversation withStarfield’s director Todd Howard, where Howard was surprised to hear that Hines spent upwards of 80 hours playing the game without ever touching the main quest. Hines went on to mention thatStarfield"doesn’t even really get going" until the player beats the main quest line.
This type of sentiment may be surprising to hear, as it’s usually attached to ongoing live service games likeDestinyor the recentDiablo 4.However, it’s safe to assume that Hines is speaking on the sheer size ofStarfieldand all the different types of role playing that can be done on its many planets and cities, much of which can likely still be accomplished after beating the story. It’s also possible Hines is referring toStarfield’s robust settlements and ship building systems. Todd Howard had previously stated that players won’t be able to truly dive deep into building ambitious settlements and ships until very late in the game after they’ve amassed enough resources to be able to do so. Thus, that fantasy of building a space settlement may be relegated to late in the narrative or after beating the story entirely, depending on players' pacing.
With Pete Hines also mentioning in the clip thatStarfieldfeatures his favorite main quest narrativein a Bethesda Game Studios title, fans should be quite excited to experience the game’s storyline and characters. That said, fans eager to basically never touch the main quest and get lost inStarfield’s vast galaxy may be compelled to do so now, especially since there will be so much more to do inStarfieldeven after beating it.
Starfieldis coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S on September 6.
