Starfield is finally getting 'finishing touches' and may actually release in 2023

Starfield
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Despite all the clouds around Starfield's delay into a vague 2023 window, a silver lining has appeared. Todd Howard has said that Bethesda is "putting the finishing touch on Starfield," calling it "an incredible opportunity."

As reported by GamesRadar, the game's director revealed that the team is nearing the finishing line during a media briefing ahead of this year's not-E3. Howard expressed his excitement about eventually bringing the space RPG to its eagerly awaiting fans.

"Our ability to transport people,  to put them in new worlds where they can have experiences that—for the moment that you're in them—they feel real for what they are, and the emotions you have," he said. "We've seen that with our other franchises like the Elder Scrolls, with Skyrim, and the Fallout series. We're working really closely with Xbox now to make [Starfield] the best experience it can be."

starfield_expected_early_2023_on_the_bottom_of from r/Starfield

As if that wasn't exciting enough for Starfield fans, there's another glimmer of hope that Starfield's revised release may be narrowing down to a solid date as we speak. Right now, it's expected any time within the first half of 2023. However, a vigilant Redditor noticed that the Game Pass sign-up screen now shows Starfield's release date as "early 2023." It's still a pretty broad window but feels a little more concise than the previous one.

With the Xbox showcase set to air on June 12, it'd be criminal if there wasn't a single mention of Starfield throughout the entire presentation. We're bound to hear something, even if it's to reiterate that yes, this game is releasing eventually. Hopefully it's a little more than that, but we'll find out soon enough.

Mollie Taylor
Features Producer

Mollie spent her early childhood deeply invested in games like Killer Instinct, Toontown and Audition Online, which continue to form the pillars of her personality today. She joined PC Gamer in 2020 as a news writer and now lends her expertise to write a wealth of features, guides and reviews with a dash of chaos. She can often be found causing mischief in Final Fantasy 14, using those experiences to write neat things about her favourite MMO. When she's not staring at her bunny girl she can be found sweating out rhythm games, pretending to be good at fighting games or spending far too much money at her local arcade.