Starfield was the biggest launch ever for a Bethesda game. But a year later, it doesn’t seem like it’ll last a decade like Skyrim.

starfield, skyrim

When Starfield launched in September 2023, it’s a fact that there were a lot of expectations riding on it. The game was alleged to be in production since Fallout 4′s release in 2015 and Bethesda Game Studios made a lot of promises that it had to deliver on.

Phil Spencer in an interview with Xbox OnPhil may have aimed too high with Starfield. | Image Credit: Xbox On

As Bethesda’s first new IP in decades, the game left a lot to be desired when it first came out. And that’s not to say that our expectations were too high, because even Phil Spencer admitted in 2023 that the goal was that it would last 12 years like The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Starfield doesn’t seem like it’ll have the long tenure that Skyrim has.

A still from Bethesda's Starfield.It doesn’t look very hopeful. | Image Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

At launch Starfield became the biggest Bethesda game launch within a week with a Steam peak of 330,723 players, surpassing Skyrim’s 287,411 in 2011. Despite this, the decline has been steep for the game because, by December 2024, Starfield sees peak player counts of around 7,921 while Skyrim still gets monthly peaks of around 3,300 after 13 years.

This isn’t to say that Starfield is a bad game. It’s a good, but flawed experience that has carried a lot of expectations on its back. Not just from its players but also its creators. Phil Spencer’s confidence in the game’s long-lasting success was evident when he spoke at the 2023 Comic Con Experience in São Paulo.

The game’s performance on platforms like Steam further highlights its struggles. As of late 2024, Starfield had fewer active players than Baldur’s Gate 3 and Elden Ring, both of which launched around the same time. Even older space exploration titles like No Man’s Sky have pulled more players. Though No Man Sky has easily made the best comeback in gaming history.

The Shattered Space DLC that was released just earlier this year in September was Bethesda’s chance to pull off the start of a comeback. Unfortunately, the expansion met with mixed to negative reviews. Many players found the content lackluster and unintuitive.

Bethesda has already pulled off a comeback with Fallout 76 so who knows?

A still from The Elder Scroll V: Skyrim.Skyrim has one of the best legacies in gaming. | Image Credit: Bethesda Game Studios

Despite these challenges, Bethesda has expressed hope for the game’s future. Creative producer Tim Lamb said to The Gamer in September 2024 that the team is committed to supporting the game long-term, with additional expansions and updates planned. Some leaks suggest a second DLC titled Starborn may be in development.

While Starfield may not yet be the 12-year marathon runner that Phil believed it was, you can never say never. Bethesda has a history of turning games around, as we’ve seen with Fallout 76, and gamers always love a good old-fashioned comeback. But the studio needs to buckle up and recognize the game’s mistakes.

The upcoming expansions and DLCs need to be better, not in terms of size but in quality. A yearly cycle of updates as we saw with the Shattered Space DLC might be a bit slow, but we don’t want rushed content either so once again, quality over quantity.

Finally, the community has to be more involved. If there’s anyone who knows a game’s issues, it’s the players. And we don’t mean that one Twitter user demanding something, we mean the entire community. Only then Starfield can have a claim to a lasting legacy such as Skyrim.

For now, the stars remain just out of reach. Do you think Bethesda can do it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!