The Starfield open beta at the top of Google search is an obvious scam

Starfield key art, showing Vasco, a robotic Starfield companion, a shuttle taking flight, and a series of human characters, one wearing an astronaut-style spaceflight helmet.

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Anticipation for news on Starfield is white-hot, and this hasn't been helped by the many delays the game has had. Everyone's jonesing to get their Skyrim in space on, but maybe some of us are Jonesing too much. Eagle-eyed PCG reader Jean Carrasquillo noticed, when googling the game's name, something suspicious: The top result is a sponsored link to a Starfield open beta that promises you can "play now."

Starfield scam link on Google. — (Image credit: Google)

Needless to say, the wise Jean did not click on this link and instead dropped us a line. Because it's absolutely bogus, a scammy scam from the scammiest scamsters. There is no Starfield open beta. If there was, it would be plastered across every gaming website and billboard you could see.

The link connects to a website called bizongrow dot com (don't go there!) which redirects users to a website called "starfięld dot com" (notice the accented e) where there's a "demo" button. Definitely do not go to these sites and do not press that demo button, because it will begin running an executable file on your PC that is not a Starfield beta but doubtless contains a ton of unidentified malware.

This bizongrow website was registered in early April and appears to have been live for around a week, with various redditors either noticing or falling for the scam and warning their fellow space hopefuls to avoid it. Looking into bizongrow dot com, it claims to be an advertising company, but that's clearly just some sort of front. The fake Starfield site was registered on 21 April and, while the registrant's info has been withheld "for privacy purposes" the mailing address given is Reykjavik. I'm pretty sure Bethesda doesn't have an Icelandic branch yet.

The malicious link has been reported to Google already so hopefully it'll disappear before long, but seriously: Come on people. There is no free Starfield open beta and the nasty types know you'd love one.

Starfield is coming in September, For real this time, Todd promises, for real.

Rich is a games journalist with 15 years' experience, beginning his career on Edge magazine before working for a wide range of outlets, including Ars Technica, Eurogamer, GamesRadar+, Gamespot, the Guardian, IGN, the New Statesman, Polygon, and Vice. He was the editor of Kotaku UK, the UK arm of Kotaku, for three years before joining PC Gamer. He is the author of a Brief History of Video Games, a full history of the medium, which the Midwest Book Review described as "[a] must-read for serious minded game historians and curious video game connoisseurs alike."