In their end-of-year review, Starfield developers Bethesda went over the numerous huge achievements and milestones the spacefaring game and its community reached. But it wasn’t all reflection—the devs also sneaked in a few teases and announcements, alluding to new features and mod support coming next year.
On Dec. 20, Bethesda posted a Starfield end-of-year update detailing the game’s early journey in 2023. Over 13 million players have taken the new space IP title for a spin, totaling over 22 million days in playtime at an average of 40 hours per player. The update also included numerous other milestones, all numbering in the millions, such as how players have used the Combatech Beowulf weapon to score nearly 600 million kills. The game only came out in September, and it’s fairly impressive it ramped up such numbers in less than four months. Nevertheless, the retrospection was all fun and games, but Starfield devs are already looking to newer Starfield horizons and beyond, announcing projects planned for 2024.
“We’re not just here to say goodbye to 2023,” said the devs. From February onwards, Starfield will be receiving updates on a six-week schedule, they confirmed. And, alongside the usual quality-of-life improvements, the devs will also look to add “feature updates,” inviting players to join the game’s beta on Steam to experience these features as soon as possible.
“We’ll be adding new ways to travel, and you’ll now be able to access city maps while exploring the major cities. For those of you who love shipbuilding, we’ll also be expanding on ship customization with ship decorations, new shipbuilding options, and more,” Starfield devs promised.
As part of these new updates, Bethesda will also aim to add new gameplay options that will allow players to customize their experience beyond the usual difficulty settings. Carry capacity, ship damage, and vendor wealth—all will be subject to the user.
But what’s perhaps the most exciting feature Starfield will receive in 2024 is the long-awaited arrival of official mod support. Bethesda’s games are known for their fan-created mods, and Starfield will be no exception, with the new Creation Kit designed to allow modders to create the best community content they can. Mods are already fairly prevalent in Starfield, even though some have already given up on it (thanks PCGamer). It remains to be seen if the new Creation Kit and mod support will repair the game’s reputation on that front in the future.
Bethesda closed the end-of-year review by saying it will diligently work to finish Shattered Space, the first expansion for Starfield. With more than a mouthful of planned projects, Bethesda seems keen on bringing Starfield up to speed with the rest of its admirable library, and the gaming world will undoubtedly be watching (and judging) closely.
