At one point in time, CD Projekt Red’sCyberpunk 2077was one of the most highly-anticipated games in development. Repeated release date delays saw fans start to sour on the game, especially when a delay was announced right after it supposedly went gold.When CD Projekt Red finally releasedCyberpunk 2077, it was a technical disaster, particularly on older consoles, resulting in severe backlash, refund demands, and ruining the goodwill that the developer had built with gamers over the years.
In retrospect, it seems like the best thing to do would have been for CD Projekt Red todelayCyberpunk 2077to get it in a better state before launch. Yes, it would have resulted in disgruntled fans complaining online about another delay, but it seems like it would have been best for the reputation of the studio in the long run. It seems Bethesda’s upcomingStarfieldcould have been on the road asCyberpunk, but its release date delay may very well be what keeps it from suffering a similar fate.
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AfterBethesda announced theStarfieldrelease date delay, journalist Jason Schreier took to Twitter to recall when he spoke to some of the people involved with the project. According to Schreier, these conversations happened prior to E3 2021 when theStarfieldrelease date was first announced. The people Schreier spoke to were reportedly “extremely worried” about the planned June 01, 2025 release date. “‘NextCyberpunk’ was the term floated,” Schreier said in his post.
Bethesda games are known to release in buggy states, but there’s a difference with a game being buggy and having the level of technical issues thatCyberpunk 2077suffered from at launch. So while it may have beendifficult for Bethesda to delayStarfield, it’s likely for the best that it gets pushed back and gets some more time in the oven before it’s released to the masses.
In some ways,Starfieldis a chance for Bethesda to repair some hard feelings that it’s developed with its fans. Bethesda was once one of the industry’s most popular developers thanks to theFalloutandElder Scrollsgames, but that reputation was tarnished with thedisastrous multiplayer-focusedFallout 76, which was panned by critics and rejected by fans.Starfieldis a return to Bethesda’s single-player RPG bread-and-butter, and it’s the company’s chance to redeem itself. Because of this, it’s especially important forStarfieldto release in as strong a state as possible, so hopefully the delay allows the developers to achieve their goals with the game.
Starfieldwill release in 2023 for PC and Xbox Series X.
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