After the acquisition of Bethesda from Microsoftthis also happens: the company behind Fallout and The Elder Scrolls finds itself in an “awkward” position, and even reaches apologize to PlayStation users.
After months and months of speculation, Bethesda is back at the recent Xbox E3 2021 showcase (full recap here) showing for the first time Starfield after several years from the official announcement.
While the trailer doesn’t tell us much about the gameplay of the game, Bethesda’s first new IP in 25 years, a couple of information obviously caused a lot of discussion. The first is the release date, set for November 11, 2022 – exactly 11 years after The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and we’re sure the choice is not accidental. The second is that, having evidently made a decision following the acquisition, Microsoft has decided that Starfield will be exclusive to the Xbox ecosystemwhich includes consoles and PCs as well as the Game Pass of course.
A predictable choice following the acquisition completed a few months ago, which allowed Microsoft to get hold of a large number of IPs and franchises, but which could have caught the same trend in Bethesda, enough to push Pete Hinesthe company’s head of marketing, to apologize to PlayStation users.
In an interview with GameSpotHines pointed out how frustrating it could have been for PS5 users discover that Starfield, which until less than a year ago was also expected on Sony consoles, will not arrive on their platforms:
If you are a huge fan of the things we do and a game we are making is no longer available on your platform, I fully understand if you are unhappy or pissed off. I get it, it’s all real feelings and frustrations.
Hines then continues by declaring that he is also a PS5 player, but that he cannot do anything to “help” Sony users: “I don’t know how to dispel the fears and worries of PlayStation 5 fans other than to say, ‘Well, I’m a PlayStation 5 player too.’ And I’ve played games on that console, and there are games that I’ll keep playing them. But what if you want to play Starfield? PC and Xbox. […] I’m sorry, all I can really say is ‘I’m sorry’ because I’m sure it’s frustrating for people, but there’s not much I can do about it. “
Regarding Starfield, the Bethesda developers have stated in recent days that the game will have numerous similarities with Skyrim, however describing its atmosphere as very similar to those of Star Wars.
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