I’m not sorry Starfield is an Xbox exclusive — and Bethesda shouldn't be either

I'thou not sorry Starfield is an Xbox exclusive — and Bethesda shouldn't be either

Starfield for Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC

(Epitome credit: Bethesda)

In the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase at E3 2021 it was finally confirmed that Starfield will be a PC and Xbox Serial 10 and Serial S sectional. Given the game could be "Skyrim in space," the reaction from PS5 and older PlayStation fans wasn't positive.

A few days later, Bethesda senior vice president of marketing and communication Pete Hines apologized to PlayStation fans. "I don't know how to allay the fears and concerns of PlayStation 5 fans, other than to say, 'I'm a PlayStation 5 player likewise, and I've played games on that panel, and at that place's games I'1000 going to continue to play on information technology'," Hines said in an interview with GameSpot. "But if you want to play Starfield, [it'south] PC and Xbox. Sorry. All I tin actually say is, I apologize."

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I don't think he should have.

Hines explained that Xbox and PC exclusivity for Starfield will permit Bethesda get the near out of the latest Xbox consoles and PC hardware, and that "narrow focus" on making a game for select platforms can make for amend evolution. This has been the example for Deathloop, said Hines, an upcoming PS5 and PC exclusive due for release in Dec.

This is a fine point. Big Bethesda games have often come hampered past bugs at launch, potentially because they've been developed for multiple platforms. Take the fantastic Skyrim as an instance. It was developed for both the PS3 and Xbox 360, which had very different underlying hardware, and can't take been easy for Bethesda; Skyrim had a lot of bugs at launch.

Information technology's only business concern

xbox and bethesda games showcase — (Image credit: Microsoft)

Just putting that aside, Bethesda and parent company ZeniMax Media was bought by Microsoft. So it's no surprise that Microsoft is going to utilize its investment in the publisher and its recumbent developers to get more Xbox and Windows 10 PC exclusives; that'due south just adept business organization sense.

Big triple-A games aren't cheap to make, so having Microsoft's fiscal ascendancy makes sense for Bethesda. As does any attempt by Microsoft to extract more than value out of that deal, fifty-fifty if that might mean hampering its chief rival from Japan.

When Microsoft'southward purchase of ZeniMax Media was first appear, I call back thinking that it probably won't run into major Bethesda games become exclusives, as Microsoft can still make money through Sony'due south consoles. But my colleague Rory Mellon argued the opposite, and has somewhat been proven correct; I still recollect The Elder Scrolls 6 won't exist Xbox exclusive.

And equally much as I idea that Bethesda would go along its largest games as multiplatform games, the harsh reality is money talks and gaming is an industry not merely a bunch of hobbyists and coders cranking out fun things for us to play.

However, I recall that this exclusivity — for Starfield at least — is actually a adept affair.

Sectional enthusiasm

Equally Hines said, keeping development focused on one console platform — or 1.5 if y'all count the Series S — tin make for tighter development. And that's likely to lead to a ameliorate overall game.

Eventually, Starfield could be ported over to the PS5. If that happens all the efforts put into opposing the launch game could be carried over to Sony'south console though this is some rampant speculation on my office.

While some might bemoan that Bethesda is under the Microsoft banner, I think that'south a positive thing, even if it means Xbox exclusivity for the developer's large games. That's considering Microsoft has a vast amount of resources, from money and engineers, to powerful developer tools, machine learning research and a huge cloud infrastructure, which Bethesda could harness.

All that could atomic number 82 to more interesting gaming features in the likes of Starfield, say cloud-powered AI or high-fidelity procedurally generated worlds. Or Bethesda could tap into Microsoft's coding and software expertise to ensure Starfield is well-optimized across a variety of Windows 10 machines and runs perfectly on the new Xbox consoles.

Furthermore, Microsoft is expanding Xbox Cloud Streaming to allow Xbox One consoles to stream Xbox Series X games, and it'south bringing game streaming to browsers so iPads and iPhones tin can stream some of the best Xbox One games, like their Android counterparts.

All that ways that Starfield, under Microsoft's yolk, could be attainable to people who've struggled to find an Xbox Series X restock or don't accept access to some of the best gaming PCs. Thanks' to Microsoft's cloud tech — Azure has the second largest cloud infrastructure in the world — Starfield's Xbox and PC exclusivity could, somewhat ironically, make the game more attainable.

Having more PS5 and Xbox exclusives is also an overall good affair. Certain, finding a PS5 restock is also a nightmare and buying ii nigh-$500 consoles isn't the most affordable thing in gaming. But having games that are fabricated and optimized for specific consoles means both become compelling devices. As such, if you get bored of one afterwards a few years y'all could then swap information technology for the other, which should be flush with exclusive games.

So rather than experience the need to repent for Starfield exclusivity, Hines should be touting it every bit the fuel for making Starfield the very best information technology tin can be in one case it launches on Nov 11, 2022. And this sectional games approach could exist a very proficient matter for gaming fans in the long-term.

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Roland Moore-Colyer is U.Yard. Editor at Tom's Guide with a focus on news, features and opinion articles. He often writes about gaming, phones, laptops and other bits of hardware; he's also got an interest in cars. When non at his desk Roland can exist establish wandering effectually London, often with a look of curiosity on his face.