Starfield to be unavailable for PS5 users

Starfield is the first new Bethesda franchise in 25 years, and it's coming to Xbox Game Pass on day one. When will it be released? Starfield is a sci-fi RPG by Bethesda Softworks, developed by the same team responsible for Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls 6. It was announced at E3 2018, and since then we've learned very little about the game. Here's what we know so far about Starfield's Xbox release, PS5 compatibility, and more.

Will Starfieldbe a S5 game?

Bethesda has not yet announced whether Starfield will launch on PS5 alongside the Xbox Series X and PC versions, but all signs point to this being a Microsoft exclusive (at least for a time). Here are some reasons why we believe Starfield won't launch on PS5:

Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media (Bethesda's parent company) in September 2020 for $7.5 billion. Bethesda has already confirmed that The Elder Scrolls 6 will be an Xbox exclusive Starfield's description on Bethesda's website has been updated to mention Xbox Game Pass, which is only available on Xbox consoles and PC.

Starfield is the latest project from Bethesda, the team behind Fallout 76 and Skyrim. It's an entirely new IP in the form of an RPG that takes place far away from Earth. Here's everything we know about Starfield so far, including what to expect from the game and when it's likely to release.

What is Starfield?

Starfield is a newly-announced RPG set in space, making it Bethesda's first brand new IP in 25 years. Despite being announced at E3 2018, details are incredibly sparse at this point, but according to Bethesda director Todd Howard, Starfield will be a single-player experience with "no plans" for multiplayer. It'll also be powered by the Creation Engine that Fallout 4 and Skyrim used (although expect it to look much better), and there will be mod support on PC and consoles.

Platforms and release date

Starfield is currently only confirmed for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One - which is a little surprising given that Microsoft now owns Bethesda Game Studios (the team behind The Elder Scrolls and Fallout). However, that doesn't necessarily mean it won't come to PS5 - after all, The Elder Scrolls 6 is also confirmed for PS4/Xbox One/PC despite Microsoft owning Bethesda.

The big E3 2019 no-show was Starfield, the brand new IP that Bethesda has been working on for years. We expected to hear more about the game at its E3 press conference last night but were left disappointed. The game wasn't mentioned once during the hour-long event.

There are a couple of reasons why we reckon we didn't see Starfield at E3 this year. First up, it's not due out until late 2020 or early 2021, so there's no point showing off gameplay footage now when it's going to look dated a year from now.

Bethesda also hasn't released any information about which platforms it's coming to yet, other than that it'll be on next-gen consoles. That means it could be launching on Xbox Scarlett and PlayStation 5 in 2020 or 2021, but Bethesda is yet to confirm which systems (if any) Starfield will come to in addition to next-gen consoles.

Bethesda's Starfield, the studio's next big game, and first original IP in 25 years, has been confirmed for PlayStation 5. But what are the odds that it will actually release on PS5?

Well, we've got some bad news: Starfield probably won't be a launch title on PS5. In fact, it might not even be a cross-gen game like Cyberpunk 2077 (which will release on Xbox One and PS4).

"The game is being made by Bethesda Game Studios," a representative for Bethesda told us when we asked if Starfield would be released on the current generation of consoles. "We will share more when we're ready."

The PS5 and Xbox Series X will be competing directly against each other when they launch later this year. Both consoles are promising big upgrades over their predecessors, but what they'll offer beyond that basic upgrade remains to be seen. One of the key differentiators between the two systems is likely going to be exclusive games. Sony has a long history of snagging exclusives from third-party publishers, and it would certainly behoove them to do so again with the PS5. That could be great news for PS5 owners but bad news for Xbox Series X fans.