Starfield Reportedly Set for PS5 Release During Spring 2026 Alongside New Expansion

Bethesda is reportedly preparing the much-rumored PlayStation 5 merchandise of Starfield for outpouring 2026, which volition travel alongside a caller expansion.

According to MP1st, Starfield was pushed retired of 2025 “partly owed to the RPG’s anemic income of the archetypal expansion, Shattered Space.” Shattered Space, which launched successful September 2024 to a ‘mostly negative’ Steam idiosyncratic reappraisal rating, was meant to beryllium followed by an enlargement this twelvemonth arsenic portion of an yearly merchandise schedule.

IGN has asked Bethesda for comment.

The PS5 motorboat volition seemingly coincide with the merchandise of Starfield’s 2nd enlargement and different quality-of-life updates. MP1st said not to expect an announcement astatine gamescom aboriginal this month, oregon an imminent shadowdrop, arsenic The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered benefited from.

The question of whether Bethesda mightiness locomotion distant from Starfield to absorption connected its different franchises has been a moving taxable since release. In June 2024, Bethesda insisted it remained committed to supporting Starfield, and confirmed astatine slightest 1 different communicative enlargement would merchandise pursuing Shattered Space. And successful an interrogation with YouTube transmission MrMattyPlays, Bethesda Game Studios’ Todd Howard said the developer was aiming to merchandise an yearly communicative enlargement for “hopefully a precise agelong time.”

But determination has been small quality since, starring Starfield players to explicit their dissatisfaction astatine the level of connection coming retired of Bethesda connected the aboriginal of the game, with its no-show astatine June’s Xbox Games Showcase considered the last straw for some.

Starfield launched successful September 2023 arsenic Bethesda’s archetypal marque caller IP successful 25 years, and it went connected to scope 15 cardinal players. But it was not arsenic good received arsenic the studio’s erstwhile games successful the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls franchises, and the Shattered Space enlargement did thing to amended sentiment.

Microsoft gaming brag Phil Spencer aboriginal revealed that helium had had a speech with Bethesda improvement main Todd Howard astir the merchandise cadence for Starfield content. “Todd and I were talking astir Shattered Space,” Spencer said. “Starfield is simply a crippled I enactment a ton of hours into and truly love, but they've had this happening wherever they've added features passim the twelvemonth and past they had an expansion. I deliberation immoderate of the feedback connected the enlargement is: ‘We wanted much features.’ And he's like, ‘Well, should we person waited to enactment buggies out?'

"And so, I deliberation you're trying to tune some improvement effort and the interaction of the expansion. And I deliberation determination volition ever beryllium a equilibrium to managing the crippled period to month. But not each crippled volition bash expansions.”

Ultimately, though, Shattered Space was criticized much for its deficiency of abstraction contented than its deficiency of crushed content. As IGN wrote successful our Starfield Shattered Space review: "As acold arsenic I tin archer there’s perfectly thing added for spacefarers different than present you person a mode to legitimately get Va’ruun ships alternatively of stealing them from Zealots who onslaught you successful space. That’s fine, arsenic an enlargement doesn’t ever person to meaningfully grow each facet of a crippled – but I was amazed that determination wasn’t astatine slightest a token diagnostic thrown successful for abstraction jockeys successful an enlargement with 'space' successful the title."

Last week, Bethesda yet broke its soundlessness connected the aboriginal of Starfield, insisting it was inactive moving connected updates and would stock details connected the “exciting things” it had planned successful the coming months.

Bethesda was earnestly affected by Microsoft’s latest circular of layoffs, with cuts to its London bureau and ZeniMax Online Studios. Its unannounced MMORPG was canceled, and its seasoned workplace caput stepped down.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].