Microsoft has shortened its $1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass trials to just 14 days instead of a month, just weeks before the release of Starfield. After running for years, the $1 trial for new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers stopped in March before returning last month after Microsoft adjusted its Xbox Game Pass pricing.
Starfield: all the news and trailers about Bethesda’s massive space RPG
August 15, 2023
Starfield: all the news and trailers about Bethesda’s massive space RPG
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Aug 8
Microsoft shortens its Xbox Game Pass trials just before Starfield’s release
Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeThe trials have typically offered new Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers a month’s access to the subscription services for just $1, but Microsoft has now adjusted both this week to move them to just 14 days only weeks ahead of Starfield’s release on September 6th.
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Jul 25
Three new Starfield animated shorts offer more glimpses of Bethesda’s new universe
Starfield will be released in just over a month, and on Tuesday, developer Bethesda Game Studios released three animated shorts as part of a new anthology series called Starfield: The Settled Systems.
In the shorts, you’ll get a glimpse of three of the game’s big cities. “Follow a delivery pilot in New Atlantis seeking the exciting life of the elite; a stranded orphan looking for a way out of Akila City; and two street rats struggling to survive in the underbelly of Neon,” the studio wrote in a press email.
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Jun 15
Pour one out for HDDs because PC games are starting to require SSDs
Are you still hanging on to that giant 8TB spinning HDD for your PC game installs? Well, it’s starting to look like SSDs will become the new minimum spec for modern PC games. While SSDs have shipped as standard in the latest and greatest PC gaming rigs and laptops, we haven’t seen game developers really push for SSDs as a minimum… until this week.
Microsoft held its Xbox Games Showcase on Sunday and revealed that Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years, Starfield, will require 125GB of SSD storage when it debuts on September 6th. It’s not a recommendation — it’s a minimum spec to play Starfield on a PC.
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Jun 11
Watch 45 minutes of new Starfield gameplay
We got a solid 15 minutes of Starfield gameplay at Microsoft’s Xbox & Bethesda showcase last year, and today we’re getting a really in-depth look at Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years. Described as “Skyrim in space,” by game director Todd Howard, the RPG is really shaping up ahead of its debut on September 6th.
Today Bethesda decided to show us a lot more detail about Starfield, including the cities and settlements in the game, the skill trees, upgrades, and space combat. The 45-minute deep dive is a lot, and it really feels like if Bethesda can pull this off then you’ll be able to live out all your dreams of exploring space.
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Jun 11
The biggest announcements from the Xbox Games Showcase 2023 and Starfield Direct
Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeMicrosoft just wrapped up its annual summer showcase for Xbox games, and it was a big one. Not only did Microsoft share tons of information about new titles coming to Xbox, but the company also showed a long look at Starfield, Bethesda’s long-awaited sci-fi RPG.
Here’s the biggest announcements from the show.
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Jun 11
Microsoft’s new Starfield Xbox controller and headset are available now
After weeks of leaks Microsoft is making its Starfield Xbox controller and headset official today. The Starfield-branded Xbox controller is the latest in a long line of special edition controllers that Microsoft has created since the launch of its Xbox Series X / S consoles in 2020.
Priced at $79.99, the Starfield-branded controller will be available to purchase today and includes a design inspired by elements in Starfield. The controller has accents of grey and gold to match the Starfield branding and textured hand grips.
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May 9
Starfield will let you do drugs and have sex (with a jetpack on, maybe)
Image: BethesdaWe know so little of Starfield, only that it’s from Bethesda, involves stars and fields in some configuration, and that Microsoft and Xbox desperately need it to be a hit after Redfall’s pretty terrible launch. But now, thanks to a new ESRB description, we know… honestly, not that much more, but at least we now know there’s plenty of drugs, lots of blood, and possibly jetpack sex.
The ESRB summary starts with a description of who we’ll be playing as: “players assume the role of a miner tasked with finding Artifacts across the galaxy.” From the 15-minute gameplay showcase last year, we know these mysterious artifacts are a key plot point but still have no clues about what they are, what they do, or why they’re so important.
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Mar 8
Bethesda’s Starfield will now be released on September 6th
Starfield, a big upcoming title from Microsoft-owned Bethesda, is getting a new release date today. Starfield had been delayed to the first half of 2023, and it will now arrive even later on September 6th.
In a new video, game director Todd Howard says Bethesda and Microsoft will now hold a Starfield direct event on June 11th to detail the game. “This June, we’re going to bring you into the studio and give you a deep dive in the game at our Starfield direct,” says Howard. “There’s so much that we still have to show you.” The dedicated Starfield showcase will follow Microsoft’s annual Xbox showcase on Sunday June 11th.
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Dec 23, 2022
Microsoft says three future Bethesda games will be Xbox-exclusive
Image: MicrosoftWe knew Microsoft would make Bethesda’s Starfield exclusive to Xbox and PC, and it sure looked like The Elder Scrolls VI would skip PlayStation and Nintendo, too. But now, Microsoft’s lawyers are revealing that they’ve got eyes on at least one more exclusive title — there are three future Xbox exclusives from Bethesda, they revealed today, in a response to the FTC’s lawsuit against the Activision Blizzard deal.
“Xbox anticipates that three future titles — REDACTED — all of which are designed to be played primarily alone or in small groups — will be exclusive to Xbox and PCs,” reads a passage in Microsoft’s response.
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Dec 5, 2022
Microsoft to raise Xbox first-party game prices from $60 to $70 in 2023
Illustration by Alex Castro / The VergeMicrosoft is increasing the prices of its upcoming first-party Xbox games next month. From 2023 onward, new full-priced games from Xbox Game Studios like Redfall, Starfield, and Forza Motorsport will be priced at $69.99 instead of the usual $59.99. It’s a price increase that matches the pricing that competitors like Sony, Ubisoft, and Take-Two all offer their own games at.
Microsoft issued the following statement about the price increases:
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Jun 12, 2022
Watch 15 minutes of Starfield gameplay
After an early glimpse of Starfield at Microsoft’s Xbox & Bethesda showcase last year and a delay to 2023, we’re now getting a much closer look at Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years thanks to 15 minutes of gameplay. Starfield is, naturally, set in space where players will take on the role of a last group of explorers. Described as “Skyrim in space,” by game director Todd Howard, the RPG will be playable in both first- and third-person, but primarily it’s first-person.
During the early stages of the gameplay, we arrive on the moon of Kreet, just one of more than 1,000 planets that players will be able to fly to and explore freely. Powered by Bethesda’s new Creation Engine 2, the first Starfield gameplay shows a player freely roaming around in both first- and third-person views, collecting resources, and disturbing creatures that are also foraging on Starfield’s many planets.
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Jun 12, 2022
The biggest trailers and announcements from the 2022 Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase
Xbox revealed a ton of exciting news at the Xbox & Bethesda Game Showcase, ranging from a longer look at Starfield to news about Overwatch 2 and Diablo IV.
For this event, Xbox only focused on games available to play within the next 12 months. So at least you won’t have to wait too long. In case you missed it, here’s a roundup of the biggest announcements and trailers.
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May 12, 2022
Bethesda’s Starfield and Redfall have been delayed to 2023
Image: BethesdaStarfield, the biggest upcoming title from Microsoft-owned Bethesda, has been delayed to the first half of 2023, according to a tweet from the studio. The game was originally set to launch on November 11th, 2022, an homage to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s release date. The new space exploration game, which Bethesda has released precious few details about (and, to this date, no actual gameplay footage of), will get some extra development time, as will Redfall, the vampire co-op shooter coming from the team at Arkane that was surprise-announced last year.
It’s likely that both games will be shown off in Bethesda’s upcoming games showcase on June 12th, so this early announcement is likely meant to set expectations ahead of time. Speaking of setting expectations, if Bethesda happens to show off any Elder Scrolls VI footage, keep in mind that it’s likely (sadly) still years away from arriving on consoles and PC.
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Jun 13, 2021
Bethesda’s Starfield is launching exclusively on Xbox and PC on November 11th, 2022
We’re finally getting a look at Starfield today, Bethesda’s first new unique universe in more than 25 years. Starfield, as the name implies, is set in space, and a new teaser trailer reveals it will launch exclusively on Xbox Series X / S and PC on November 11th, 2022. The trailer first leaked over at The Washington Post just minutes before Microsoft’s Xbox + Bethesda event.
While there isn’t much gameplay shown in the trailer, Bethesda describes the game as something where “you’ll be who you want, go where you want.” It’s focused on a last group of explorers in space, and Bethesda is opening up a teaser site today that will provide more information about Starfield.
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