Following an early glance at Starfield during Microsoft’s Xbox & Bethesda event last year and a 2023 release date, we now get a deeper look at Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years thanks to 15 minutes of gameplay. Players will take on the role of a last group of explorers in Starfield, which is situated in space. The RPG, which game designer Todd Howard describes as “Skyrim in space,” will be playable in first- and third-person, but will focus on first-person.

We land on the moon of Kreet early in the game, one of over 1,000 worlds that players will be able to fly to and explore at their leisure. The initial Starfield gameplay, which is powered by Bethesda’s new Creation Engine 2, shows a player freely traveling about in both first- and third-person viewpoints, collecting resources and disturbing wildlife foraging on Starfield’s various planets.

The game then moves on to an abandoned research facility where pirates are hiding. It’s here that we see the XP advancement mechanism in action every kill, as well as the Starfield weaponry. A jet pack can even be used to drive yourself towards foes. If you’re looking for treasure, you’ll need to pick the locks of weapon cases strewn across Starfield, much like in past Bethesda games.

The Constellation, the last group of space explorers, is at the focus of the main tale. You meet them at New Atlantis’ capital city, where you learn that this crew of explorers is searching for relics across Starfield’s systems. What use do these objects serve? That is the task at hand. In Starfield, there are several organizations with whom you may band up to fight the pirates.

Character customisation is a big deal at Bethesda, with Howard noting that the character creator is the studio’s “most versatile ever,” enabling users to change skin tones, facial structure, hair, and more. You’ll create your character with three attributes, and the skill system will contain unlocks and different tiers. On top of that, you may utilize resources to create weapon customizations.

You may set up your own resource-gathering outposts around the planets, and you can recruit folks to keep them operating. You may also design your own spaceships, pick your crew, and totally modify the ship’s appearance and layout. Because there are so many ship manufacturers and components, it appears that customizing a ship with multiple armament systems or shielding should be simple.

Flying around in Starfield looks particularly amazing, implying that many of the game’s conflicts would take place on more than just planets. You may land and explore all of the planets in the Starfield system at your leisure, and Bethesda claims there are more than 1,000 worlds to discover. It appears to be a huge undertaking, even though the gameplay appeared to be a touch slow at points. We still don’t know a precise date for its release.

Starfield was supposed to be released on November 11th, 2022, in honor of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, but Microsoft announced a postponement to the “first half of 2023” only weeks before their Xbox demonstration. Starfield was just listed as “early 2023” on an Xbox Game Pass enrollment page, and all of the titles in the showcase are set to arrive within the next year. So it’s feasible that we won’t have to wait long to begin exploring. In any case, Starfield will be available solely on Xbox One X/S and PC next year.