Bethesda has delayed Xbox Series X|S exclusive titles Starfield and Redfall into 2023 to make sure players receive the “best, most polished version”. Rumors claim Bethesda developers had been concerned about the impending Starfield release date and wanted to delay the game to avoid it becoming the “next Cyberpunk”.
A new release date for Starfield and Redfall
Redfall was originally due to be released this summer, while Starfield had a more specific release date of November 11, 2022. Now, neither of them will be arriving this year. In a statement from Bethesda, it was confirmed the two games had been delayed into the first half of 2023 but that we should see some gameplay from both of them soon:
An update on Redfall and Starfield. pic.twitter.com/pqDtx26Uu6
— Bethesda (@bethesda) May 12, 2022
“We’ve made the decision to delay the launches of Redfall and Starfield to the first half of 2023.
The teams at Arkane Austin (Redfall) and Bethesda Game Studios (Starfield) have incredible ambitions for their games, and we want to ensure that you receive the best, most polished versions of them.
We want to thank everyone for their excitement for Redfall and Starfield. That energy is a huge part of what inspires all of us every day and drives our own excitement for what we are creating.
We can’t wait to share our first deep dive into the gameplay for both Redfall and Starfield soon.
Thank you for your support.”
After the delay was announced, Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier claimed some developers at Bethesda had been concerned about the original November release date for Starfield for quite some time. Based on the progress the team had made on the game at that point, some were concerned they would be releasing the “next Cyberpunk”. All developers are trying their hardest to avoid this label, but delays are understandably starting to frustrate gamers. Removing both games from the 2022 release schedule means there will be no games from any of Microsoft’s first-party studios released on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One this year. Xbox head Phil Spencer responded to those concerns:
“These decisions are hard on teams making the games & our fans. While I fully support giving teams time to release these great games when they are ready, we hear the feedback. Delivering quality & consistency is expected, we will continue to work to better meet those expectations.”
In other news, Twitter has added a new Data Dash game to its site to explain its privacy policy in simpler terms. Elsewhere, Pokémon Legends: Arceus has sold more than 12 million units since its release just over three months ago.
