There are four key Starfield cities to visit in Bethesda's grand outer space RPG. As expected based on Bethesda's past games, these main cities are hubs where we'll pick up quests, shop, and encounter big parts of the story; discovering and returning to each of them drives the games narrative and many of its ambient side quests.
Each Starfield city has a distinct style, and some are closely tied to specific Starfield factions that you'll encounter throughout the game.
What are the major locations in Starfield?
Starfield has four main cities:
- New Atlantis
- Akila City
- Neon
- The Key
Each main city is the home territory of a particular faction, very thematically tied to the different aesthetics of space westerns, space piracy, and so on.
New Atlantis
Location: Jemison, Alpha Centauri system
Faction: United Colonies
New Atlantis is the hyper-modern capital city where the United Colonies has set up camp on the planet Jemison in the Alpha Centauri system. This is the Trek-like, glossy and high-tech vision of space where glass architecture meets curated green space. It sure does seem like everyone around here is carrying a briefcase though. You'd think we wouldn't need those in the techie future.
Akila City
Location: Planet Akila
Faction: Freestar Collective
This is the home of the Freestar Collective, another of the main factions. Of course it's home to the space western aesthetic, where the roads are dirt, saloon signs are wood, and power lines cross one another in the sky. This planet is also home to extra terrestrial hunters called the Ashta, a cross between a wolf and a velociraptor. If you look closely at Akila City's front gates, it says "est. 2167 by Solomon Coe," putting its founding a whole 163 years before the present day of Starfield's story in 2330.
Neon
Location: Vol II system
Faction: Ryujin Industries
This suspended, aquatic spectacle is a "pleasure city" called Neon. Xenofresh Corporation workers felt an urge to set up a dock and catch fish (who doesn't), and built a space-dock in the middle of a large body of water. Surprisingly, they caught a fish with mind-bending psychedelics, and they decided to produce that instead of just catching fish. Some of these Neon-exclusive critters produce substances that can be refined into a drug called "Aurora," that has limited legality across the stars.
Above its more cyberpunk-looking streets, Neon is also the home of cybercorp Ryujin Industries which maintains a much more austere vibe than the rest of the city. Its streets are packed with retail, nightclubs with psychedelic dancers, warehouses of Aurora shipments.
The Key
Location: Suvorov, Kryx System
Faction: The Crimson Fleet
The fourth major city in Starfield is actually a space station. The Key is a labyrinthine station that's home to the Crimson Fleet space raiders. Be warned: they'll attack on sight if you jump there without prior invite via a quest sending you to the area. So don't go jumping into pirate territory unprepared.
Minor Cities
In addition to the main cities of Starfield, there are plenty of other minor outposts and towns you can find. Here are a few that we can call out so far:
- Red Mile - A dark outpost on Porrima II home to a group by the same name.
- Cydonia - A mining operation on Mars controlled by the United Colonies.
- UC Vigilance - A giant starship that you can visit the interior of.
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