Eight years in the oven and a spectacular launch later, Starfield has gobbled up many of our weekends. For long-time followers of Bethesda and sci-fi fans alike, Starfield is a love letter containing some of the best aspects of the iconic role-playing formula that made the studio popular. By this time, many of you will have wrapped up the main storyline and might be wondering about what’s next.
Technically for Bethesda, Starfield’s launch means entering full production on The Elder Scrolls 6, albeit not before the studio sends a couple of major updates and DLCs our way. If a part of you does want more Starfield, then you needn’t worry. There’s still a lot more coming to the game soon, but if you aren’t sure what to expect, continue reading and find out why Bethesda’s space RPG will still be relevant years from now.
Starfield’s Colossal Scope Allows For Endless Mod Support
Starfield’s launch didn’t receive significant criticism on many fronts, but one notable concern was its vast scope, which resulted in a thousand planets with limited substantial content. The amazing quest design in Starfield managed to compensate for the lifelessness of the planets. As a result, concerns have somewhat diminished.
Now, quite some time has passed since launch day and many players have completed and shelved Starfield, but here’s why you should consider replaying it.
Many community-made mods for the game are out, as they always are when a new Bethesda RPG releases. Official mod support by Bethesda is set to arrive in 2024, along with the first story expansion, but at present, the community mods are nothing short of amazing.
Some allow you to travel to planet surfaces without load times. Others add a hundred new weapons, revamped mechanics, and quests.
The shortage of substantial content on many planets in “Starfield” leads to the expectation that creative community members will likely create a procedural generation mod for the game. Alternatively, upcoming mods could introduce engaging side quests that make better use of these currently underdeveloped landscapes.
Mods Can Make Starfield Stay Relevant Even After The Elder Scrolls 6 Launches
The possibilities are endless on how mod support could sustain a stable following for Starfield even after The Elder Scrolls 6 releases. And to point out the obvious, there’s no shortage of space for all that to happen.
Mods for Starfield are getting better day by day, and if you’re on the borderline of replaying it, install a couple of them and it’ll feel like a brand-new experience again. And since the library keeps on growing every passing day, you can tune in on Nexus Mods monthly and have a bunch of eye-opening mods available to rejuvenate trekking across the Starfield.
Starfield Will Likely Have Far Bigger Mods Than Skyrim
Skyrim has over 70,000 mods across Nexus Mods and about 30,000 across the Steam Workshop. Even more are added every day. The love Skyrim has received over the years is unreal. Starfield might not get the same level of support, but there will indeed be thousands of mods coming, and massive ones at that.
There’s limitless potential for content mods to be added. New NPCs, ships, settlements, enemy types, and maybe even entire overhauled planets.
You could even fit the entire Fallout and Elder Scrolls series’ maps in the game and still have ten times as much room left. Who knows, some Skyrim fanatics might even attempt to do that.
The bottom line is that Starfield is a dream come true for modders, and you should be excited for what mind-blowing community creations are introduced in the next few years.
The Shattered Space DLC and Future Updates: Elevating Starfield
In many ways Starfield has lived up to the promise of being the ultimate Space simulator where you explore thousands of planets and journey to the far corners of the universe – no wonder why it has the world hooked.
There’s no doubt that Starfield’s universe is vast and boundless, however, its overall open-world is just quantity and not quality. Vanilla Starfield just doesn’t hold up that well when compared to other open-world RPGs like The Witcher 3. It is in dire need of more content, either through mods or any other means.
Thankfully, Bethesda plans to release Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC in 2024 besides official mods integration. The studio has also confirmed that they plan to support the title for about five years. Considering that, it’s a safe bet to assume the expansions will be accompanied by updates that will refurbish many aspects of the game.
Let’s Just Hope Starfield’s Overhaul Is As Good As Cyberpunk 2077 2.0
“Cyberpunk 2077’s launch was a disaster”, I believe that’s how the saying goes. With 33 months of continuous support, CD Project Red was able to turn that into “Cyberpunk 2.0 is a masterpiece, perhaps even better than The Witcher 3”.
Starfield isn’t broken in any way like Cyberpunk was, but oh boy is it dull at times. The absence of land vehicles, abundant loading screens, and barren planets are its biggest weak points.
There’s just not enough thrill of discovery or a fascinating gameplay loop to make you keep going after ending the main story and side quests. With the promised 5 years of support by Bethesda, hopefully, they aim to rectify some of the factors that have made their Space simulator feel often lifeless.
With mod support, heavy-hitting expansions, and gameplay updates, I can see Bethesda pulling a Cyberpunk 2.0 and making Starfield feel as if it were released yesterday years from now when The Elder Scrolls 6 comes out. However, achieving a complete overhaul on par with Cyberpunk 2.0 is easier said than done.
In any case, those updates are still a long way off. Until then, community mods seem to be the best way to replay Starfield. And if the upcoming mods are even half as good as they are in Skyrim, the game is going to be remembered for the ages, well until Starfield 2 comes out anyway.
Starfield: Constellation Edition
Release Date: 6, September 2023
Available on: PC, Xbox Series X|S
Buy Now Starfield: Constellation Edition on Amazon
