Can you go to jail in Starfield?

Starfield is a full-fledged role-playing game that sees players step into the shoes of a space adventurer. There have been some questions about just how far your freedom can stretch in space, and that includes whether or not you will be sent to jail for committing crimes.

Being sent to jail is not a new concept in RPGs. In games like Baldur’s Gate 3, you will end up in a prison cell if you don’t follow the law. After all, you are role-playing a character and the world around you reacts to your actions. If you have been wondering about this might potentially work in Starfield, you’re not alone.

Luckily, some devs recently took part in a Discord Q&A to answer questions surrounding Starfield and spoke on how jail will work.

Is there a jail in Starfield?

Fortunately for fans of realistic gameplay, there will be opportunities to go to jail in Starfield. That might not be the news some fans were hoping to hear, but you will only be jailed if you break the law in the wild expanse of space.

Related: All voice actors for Starfield: Full cast list

According to the devs, you will go to jail if you commit a crime and are caught by an authority figure. However, before heading to jail, you will have certain chances to pay a fine to get out of your crime. If you don’t pay that fine, or fail to escape the authorities, then it’s right to jail for your character. You might also be able to bribe the person who caught you to get out of your predicament.

It’s unclear exactly how jail will work in Starfield. I would imagine you end up in a prison cell and can only be released if you agree to pay a fine, complete a certain task to work off your crime or find a way to escape your captivity.

It’s also likely that the cities across the galaxy in Starfield will have different laws for you to abide by. So, for example, some colonies might have more lenient laws that allow you to get away with more before you are threatened with going to jail.

The devs noted in the Discord Q&A that the jail system in Starfield works very similarly to that of Skyrim. So if you played Skyrim, you will likely have a solid idea of how jail will generally work in Bethesda’s newest title.