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Highlights
- Starfield Update 4 on Steam Beta has reinvigorated fans, addressing FPS issues and adding a new Extreme difficulty setting.
- Ship customization expands to interior design, surface maps are updated, and inventory management is improved in the May update.
- The positive player reception comes ahead of the Shattered Space DLC launch.
Starfield Update 4, which launched in Steam Beta on May 1, seems to have finally satisfied a lot of fans who had previously abandoned Bethesda’s outer space RPG. After a lackluster player reception at launch, fan reaction to this newest Starfield update seems to be overwhelmingly positive.
Bethesda released Starfield in September 2023, and it registered a huge number of players at launch, thanks in no small part to its day-one inclusion on Game Pass. However, it also had to compete with the console launch of Baldur’s Gate 3, which Larian Studios released on PlayStation 5 on the same day. Since then, Starfield‘s player numbers have dwindled dramatically, while its competitor’s RPG has racked up countless awards, including Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2023.
Starfield Secretly Dropped a Big Hint for Shattered Space DLC
Starfield fans have noticed a small hint pointing toward which faction the RPG’s upcoming Shattered Space DLC may be centered around.
But now, fans seem to be resuming their outer space adventures for a lot of reasons, with one of the biggest being the ability to choose between performance and visual modes, dramatically improving the poor FPS rate in Starfield that players had complained about in past builds. Many Starfield players on Reddit have admitted that they left the game in its launch month after around 30 to 40 hours of playtime, but they’re now coming back to the game thanks to the improvements included in the update. Players are also praising Bethesda for its inclusion of the new Extreme difficulty setting, offering a greater challenge for fans who found the combat too easy.
More Big Changes Are Coming To Starfield
Those aren’t the only major changes the game has undergone with the May update. Ship customization in Starfield has long been one of its strongest selling points, and the May update is expanding that system by allowing players to fully furnish and customize the interior of their ships the same way that they can with their terrestrial outposts, including new empty ship hab modules that are entirely customizable. Other improvements include updated surface maps that display terrain and structures, better inventory management, and improved gameplay options, which include changing the amount of credits carried by vendors.
The recent upswing in Starfield‘s player approval couldn’t have come at a better time for Bethesda. The Shattered Space DLC is planned for release this autumn, and while director Todd Howard and his team have remained tight-lipped about just what’s coming in the game’s first major content update — other than that it will expand upon the main story — keeping fans’ interest high ahead of the DLC’s launch is likely a major goal for Bethesda Game Studios. While the update is currently only available in Steam Beta, it is planned to be released on all platforms on May 15.
Starfield
Developed by Bethesda Game Studios, Starfield is a sci-fi action role-playing game where players interact with multiple factions, engage in combat, customize their main character and ship, as well as explore a universe that features over 100 systems and 1,000 planets.
- Released
- September 6, 2023
- How Long To Beat
- 20 Hours
- Metascore
- 86
