Starfield, Bethesda’s space RPG, holds a strategic place in Microsoft’s plans, which aspires to make it a lasting success. What can we learn on the subject?
Phil Spencer, a leading figure at Xbox, marked his presence at Comic Con Experience 23 in Brazil, where he addressed a multitude of topics relating to the platform, ranging from Minecraft to Forza, including Sea of Thieves and Gaming Pass. Among these subjects, Starfield, the flagship release of 2023 for Xbox, naturally captured attention.
Starfield, the next Skyrim
In front of thousands of Brazilian players, Phil Spencer spoke about the past, present, and future of Xbox, particularly highlighting Starfield. He shared Xbox’s ambitious – even, for some, utopian – vision for this title.
In fact, Phil Spencer and his team are confident that Starfield will enjoy the same popularity as Skyrim, even 12 years after its release. As a reminder, Skyrim, launched in 2011, today attracts more players on Steam than Starfield. During CCXP, when asked about the sustainability of Starfield, like Skyrim, Phil Spencer asserted this conviction with confidence.
He declares :
This is our goal. Skyrim is a phenomenal success from Bethesda Game Studios. In speaking with Todd Howard and the team, their goal for space and space exploration enthusiasts is to provide the same opportunity. We’ve already announced our next expansion – Shattered Space – and informed the community that they would have access to all the modding tools to create their own content in Starfield, which has been very important for Skyrim. We therefore have great confidence that Starfield will remain popular in the gaming world for many years to come.
Modding is the future
The importance of modding for Skyrim is considerable and has played a key role in its longevity and continued success. Thanks to an active community of modders, the game has been constantly enriched with new content, maintaining player interest years after its initial release. Moreover, Bethesda, the developer of Skyrim, recognized the importance of the modding community by facilitating access to creation tools and integrating support for mods in later versions of the game.
Microsoft is aware that the future of Starfield lies in its community, as well as the addition of DLC. We can easily imagine a future based on this principle, a bit like what Rockstar is doing with GTA 5.
There is no doubt that once the tools are in the hands of the creators, we will be able to enjoy complete conversion mods.