Starfield fans rejoice after 2024 roadmap reveal
It was pitched at the next big thing in gaming, and as Bethesda's first new IP in a quarter of a century, all eyes were on Starfield. Unfortunately, Starfield's rocky launch wasn't quite the lift-off Microsoft and Bethesda hoped for, as the Xbox exclusive hit a few meteorites on its journey to the stars.
Bethesda games have become (sometimes hilariously) for their launch bugs, but for whatever reason, Starfield was more under the microscope than usual. With accusations of tumbling player numbers and a snub from The Game Awards, it's been an uneasy start. Still, Bethesda is powering ahead with Starfield's 2024 roadmap.
Starfield's 2024 roadmap has fans excited again
Ignoring the haters, Bethesda is powering forward and tuning up its spaceship in the spaceport. When it showed off an ambitious 2024 roadmap in a new blog post, it was just the jolt the game needs right now. Players took to Reddit to cheer the upcoming changes, hoping that it'll see Starfield firing on all thrusters.
Alongside praising new difficulties, new customisation, and survival mechanics, there's plenty to unpack. As 2024 comes to a close, these are exactly the kind of changes a disgruntled player base was looking for. Better yet, updates will apparently roll out every six weeks, meaning we won't be starved of fresh content for long.
One cheered, "Great news! If implemented well, survival mechanics could potentially make a lot of useless mechanics actually have some meaning which could resolve a lot of my issues with the game," while another added, "All of this plus land vehicles will dramatically change this game… we should’ve had this all from the start. But, I’ll take it."
Could this be the second coming of Starfield? We previously saw Cyberpunk 2077 have a pretty disastrous launch and then turn it around with its new-gen update - finally delivering the game CD Projekt Red hoped for. The jury is out on Starfield, but someone concluded, "They’re gonna no mans sky the shit out of this. And I am here for it."
What else is in the Starfield 2024 roadmap
Click to enlargeOf course, this is just the start of what Bethesda has in its gaming cargo bay. The first update will land in February, with much-requested features like city maps and new ways to travel just over the horizon. Official mod support will also see Starfield take on a new form.
If that wasn't enough, the first story expansion will come in the form of the Shattered Space DLC. Finally, Bethesda vowed regular bug fixes and quality-of-life improvements. There's still no release date for Shattered Space, but based on previous Bethesda games, we're expecting the first half of 2024.
The idea that Starfield will get something akin to Fallout 4's Survival Mode is the big takeaway here, but with updates seemingly not coming until February, some are worried we'll be stuck with quest-breaking bugs for the next few months.
