We have lift-off: Starfield blasts past mega player milestone just 27 hours after launch

Starfield’s first day has set Bethesda on a collision course to blast through milestones as the developer celebrates its first massive concurrent player record for its latest release. The long-awaited space epic has managed to accrue over one million concurrent players and doesn’t look like it’s going to plateau anytime soon.

This success is only amplified by the fact Starfield has only been on shelves for just over a day. The Microsoft and Steam exclusive has been available for 27 hours as of publication, with Xbox head Phil Spencer marking Wednesday as the day Starfield passed that milestone via a Sept. 6 tweet. 

Starfield is currently only available on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, and Game Pass. Microsoft’s console and Game Pass seem to be the driving forces in Starfield’s player surge, according to SteamDB statistics. 

The all-time peak for Steam players reached 269,177 concurrents on Sept. 6, with each day seeing an increase from the one prior. Bethesda’s latest title was released on Sept. 5 but was available for eager gamers willing to purchase the upgraded editions five days earlier. 

Starfield’s collection of Steam users seems to have been stable after the early access release, with a first-day peak of over 230,000 concurrents.

Since then, there’s been a consistent player count, with Wednesday being its latest spike. This is likely due to Starfield finally releasing for those who didn’t pre-order the Premium or Constellation Editions.

Whether Starfield can continue its trajectory is yet to be determined. If its first day is anything to go by, however, we’ll likely see more milestones achieved by the end of the week. 

Let’s not forget that we’re still midway through the week, with the weekend in sight. Odds are there’ll be more spikes as Saturday ticks over. We’ll just have to wait and see if Starfield can continue this momentum.