As the gaming community eagerly awaits the release of Bethesda’s Starfield, set to debut in early access on Xbox Series X|S and PC on August 1 and for full release on September 6, one question has been on everyone’s minds: Will Starfield live up to the unfortunate Bethesda reputation for buggy releases? Based on initial feedback, the answer is promisingly positive.
Matt Booty, the head of Microsoft Game Studios, already indicated that Starfield could be a game-changer in this regard. “Working with Todd and the team, I see bug counts and, just by the numbers, if it shipped today, this would have the fewest bugs any Bethesda game ever shipped with,” he claimed during a Giant Bomb stream. While a statement like this raises expectations, early hands-on experience with the game seems to corroborate Booty’s claim.
Journalist Tyler McVicker has given gamers a glimmer of hope. Currently under an embargo for the game, McVicker disclosed on Discord that after 15 hours of gameplay, he encountered “not a single bug.” It’s worth mentioning that McVicker’s sentiment is not an isolated one. Several other anonymous sources, also under embargo, have reported a minimal number of bugs, usually one or two at most, even after putting dozens of hours into the game.
Additionally, the upcoming Day 1 patch for Starfield is slated to fix nearly all of the reported bugs, further bolstering the game’s credibility. This patch’s comprehensive fix-list gives more weight to the possibility that Starfield could be the smoothest release in Bethesda’s history.
Although the initial reports are from a limited number of players, they provide a strongly encouraging sign. The difference between public opinion and behind-the-scenes feedback remains a variable, but it seems Starfield is poised to break from Bethesda’s checkered past in terms of bugs.
As the game’s full release date approaches, these early reports bode well for its reception, both in terms of gameplay quality and technical soundness. Gamers might finally get a Bethesda game that’s as close to bug-free as one can realistically hope for—a match made in gaming heaven, if you will.