The disastrous launch ofRedfallhasStarfieldfans concerned that the highly-anticipated Bethesda title will meet the same fate, but recent comments by Phil Spencer offer a more reassuring reality. While Arkane Studios has established a strong reputation over the years, known for developing critically-acclaimed titles such asPreyand theDishonoredgames, the reception toRedfallhas been less than stellar. Poor gunplay, cheap cutscenes, dumb AI, an uninspired art direction – players have been vocal about their grievances with the game, which extend well past its technical issues, asRedfallcontinues to be review bombed on Steam.
As Bethesda remains conservative with its marketing forStarfield, there’s a growing concern in the community that the game’s launch may resembleFallout 76more thanSkyrim. Thepressure onStarfieldfollowingRedfall’s launchisn’t necessarily real or even warranted from Bethesda’s perspective, but public perception has certainly made it a topic prominent enough that the CEO of Xbox Phil Spencer chose to address it during an episode of Kinda Funny’s Xcast.
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When the topic ofRedfall’s mixed reviews came up, Spencer stated that there was nothing more difficult for him than disappointing the Xbox community. He went on to say that while he preferred for the developers to step out of their comfort zone (citing Obsidian’sGroundedas an example), the attempt by Arkane to create an online co-op experience did not meet the standard fans have come to expect. In hindsight, Spencer feels that Microsoft should have stepped in earlier duringRedfall’s development to help Arkane meet its internal goals, a mistake that he claims hasn’t been repeated with Bethesda’sStarfield.
UnlikeRedfall,Starfieldwas still in an earlier stage of development whenMicrosoft’s acquisition of Bethesdaoccurred, and Microsoft has had close and regular communications with Todd Howard and his team onStarfield’s progress, scope, and overall vision. Though Spencer laments that Xbox didn’t do a good job in communicating with Arkane Austin, it’s ultimately an issue that will not followStarfieldas it eyes its release date of September 6.
It’s no secret thatStarfieldis an ambitious project for Bethesda Game Studios, as it represents the next step in the company’s specific brand of sandbox role-playing games such asSkyrimorFallout 4.Starfield’s features such as procedurally generated planets, ship customization, and an improved system for factions are but a few examples of how Bethesda plans to push the envelope further. Phil Spencer’s recent comments paint a picture ofStarfieldbeing regularly offered help and guidance by Microsoft. Whether it succeeds or fails, it will do so by its own merit rather than being part of an emerging pattern that began withRedfall.
Starfieldwill be released on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.
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