Starfield: Bethesda Game Studios' Ambitious Game
Starfield is Bethesda Game Studios’ most ambitious game, but how big is it? On one hand, we’ve seen a few trailers, some screenshots, and some gameplay footage. On the other hand, we know Starfield boasts around 1000 planets across approximately 100 star systems, and that’s before we factor in procedurally-generated surfaces and handcrafted cities on a smaller number of planets. Roughly 10% of these planets support life, while the rest are cold, dead rocks. That’s the vision, at least.
Bethesda has included over 250,000 lines of dialogue in Starfield, more than double the amount in their previous largest game, Skyrim, and its three DLC add-ons combined. The main quest is estimated to take 30-40 hours to complete, making it 20% longer than Skyrim’s main quest. However, this number doesn’t tell the whole story. The game’s true size and length can only be determined once the game is out.
In a feature published by The New York Times, reporter Ben Strauss visits Bethesda Game Studios to learn about the number of planets and their characteristics in Starfield. The article dives into the generation of surfaces and the presence of handcrafted cities on some planets. It also mentions the significant amount of dialogue in the game, comparing it to previous Bethesda titles.
Strauss notes that the team has put a lot of effort into creating a vast, interconnected universe, but a lot of what we’ll see upon Starfield’s release is still a mystery. The author acknowledges the difficulty in obtaining concrete answers regarding the game’s size.
“The game’s true size and length can only be determined once it is released,” Strauss writes. However, he does provide insights into the number of planets and their characteristics in Starfield.
How many planets are in Starfield?
Starfield boasts around 1000 planets across approximately 100 star systems. Roughly 10% of these planets support life, while the rest are cold, dead rocks. Many of the inhabited planets are filled with cities, towns, and settlements.
Strauss explains how the generation of surfaces works to create these planets. Each planet has a “Skyrim-sized” chunk that players can explore. The surface itself can’t be fully explored, as Strauss notes that players will land at specific locations and explore a “Skyrim-sized” chunk.
Bethesda has included some examples of this generation in a video on Starfield’s official YouTube channel. One clip shows a barren planet with a series of craters, but as Strauss explains, this is the result of a nuke going off. Another example shows a planet made up of a large ocean with a few small, tropical islands. Strauss notes that many of the planets we’ve seen so far are barren as they’re on the outer rim of the galaxy.
While Strauss admits that he “can’t judge the game’s scope,” he is still able to provide some examples of what we’ll see in Starfield. For example, he explains that the main quest will take players to a number of specific planets, such as the one seen in the Starfield gameplay trailer and another called Ahua.
The main quest is estimated to take 30-40 hours to complete, making it 20% longer than Skyrim’s main quest. However, it’s worth noting that Strauss acknowledges the potential for longer playtime due to additional activities, such as side quests and challenging missions.
While Starfield’s scope is difficult to judge, Strauss provides some examples of what we’ll see in Bethesda’s upcoming game. For example, he explains how the game’s dialogue system works and the significant amount of dialogue in the game, comparing it to previous Bethesda titles.
Check out the full New York Times feature here.
If you’re looking forward to Starfield, you might want to check out the Starfield release date. We’ve also got a list of all the Starfield mods that you can install before the game releases.
