Millions have already played Starfield in early access, data suggests

Only a day remains before Starfield officially launches worldwide, yet it’s already smashing player count records.

According to a new report today by PlayerTracker, Starfield has surpassed two million players during its early access period. These numbers include only premium edition owners, who could play the game five days before release.

Starfield is currently Steam’s sixth most-played game despite its early access status. At the time of writing, its player peak hit nearly 250,000 concurrent players. It beats Valve’s own squad shooter, Team Fortress 2, as well as FromSoftware’s latest Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. Starfield‘s stellar success comes in the wake of mixed reviews and impressions.

Starfield‘s Metacritic score has fluctuated in the high 80s, with most players and reviewers grading it favorably. However, several notable outlets gave the game less-than-favorable scores, calling some of its aspects “pointless filler” and criticizing its limited exploration. Starfield was marketed as a game with “unparalleled freedom” by Bethesda, and the results left some players disappointed.

Player reviews are currently unavailable as the community eagerly awaits its launch. But, going by Metacritic’s aggregate score, the game seems to be make good first impressions. One sign of Bethesda’s success is the sheer number of active players in early access. Though plagued with criticism and unmet expectations, Starfield certainly seems to have much to offer. Bethesda executive Pete Hines said it “doesn’t even get going” before the main story is complete.

Hines also stated that he spent over 160 hours on a single Starfield playthrough but was “not even close” to being finished. If his words are anything to go by, we’ll have to wait for a while before seeing genuine player reviews for Starfield.

Whatever the case, Starfield launches tonight at midnight, and excitement is at its peak. Meanwhile, check out our review of Bethesda’s latest blockbuster title, where we review the game’s extensive content.