Starfield leak is bad news for PS5 — time to find an Xbox Series X restock

Starfield
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Given Starfield, Bethesda’s upcoming science fiction adventure, was first unveiled two years before Microsoft announced its intention to purchase Bethesda and its parent company ZeniMax Media, some were hopeful that the game could still find its way onto PlayStation consoles. 

That hope seems to have been extinguished, if the words of GamesBeat journalist Jeff Grubb are correct. “Starfield is exclusive to Xbox and PC. Period,” he tweeted. “This is me confirming that.” 

If you’ve been lucky enough to find a PS5 restock and also happen to love Bethesda games like The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, this doesn’t sound great. And while there is such a thing as a timed exclusive where games emerge on other formats at a later date (this actually includes an upcoming Bethesda published PS5 title: Deathloop), the use of the word “period” after Grubb’s statement doesn’t sound particularly encouraging for Starfield’s prospects.

On one level, this isn’t hugely surprising. You don’t spend $7.5 billion on a company only to share its products with your arch rival, after all. On the other, if years of work had already gone into a version for PS4 and PS5 before Microsoft’s plans were known, it seems a bit wasteful to throw away millions of dollars worth of potential sales. Plus, Microsoft continues to support Minecraft on PlayStation, after spending $2.5 billion on the game back in 2014, so there is some kind of precedent here.

But it's been clear for some time that exclusivity was the direction Microsoft was leaning towards with Bethesda. Eight months ago, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that while titles would be examined on a “case-by-case basis," exclusivity would be part of the company’s plans. “We want the Xbox ecosystem to absolutely be the best place to play, and we think game availability is absolutely part of that,” he said.

After the purchase was approved in March, Spencer made the stance even clearer. “Xbox consoles, PC, and Game Pass will be the best place to experience new Bethesda games, including some new titles in the future that will be exclusive to Xbox and PC players,” he said.  

So that's all a good reason to seek out an Xbox Series X and try and find a promising Xbox Series X restock. Though the flagship Xbox is a stellar games console regardless of Starfield and makes for the best platform to lay Xbox games old and new. 

Of course, depending on how well Xbox Game Pass streaming works in the long run, PlayStation owners may be able to temporarily subscribe and get their Starfield fix delivered remotely to a phone or tablet. Alternatively, the Xbox Series S makes a tempting secondary console for those who have already spent big on a PS5, but can’t live without their expansive Bethesda adventures.

Starfield is still a game that’s shrouded in mystery, but we may not have long to wait before it’s fleshed out a bit. Earlier this week, concept art of the game was leaked on Reddit, before being promptly deleted, suggesting that a 2021 release date isn’t impossible. Watch this space.

Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time.

  • Bloodklot
    This article is so thirsty to get PlayStation users to buy an Xbox 😂 No one should buy an Xbox because of one game especially one by Bethesda. Not after all those recent shitty games they’ve been releasing. Fallout and Elder Scrolls were HUGE disappointments and a shell of their former selves. It’s no wonder they bit at the chance to sell out to Microsoft. And no one needs to buy an Xbox to play exclusives. You just need a pc or Gamepass subscription. Someone smart would wait till Starfield releases, and wait a few months to see if it’s worth it.
    Reply
  • DevinRex
    admin said:
    Sony's PS5 and PS4 won’t be getting Starfield, according to an insider; it'll be exclusive to Xbox Series X and PC.

    Starfield leak is bad news for PS5 — time to find an Xbox Series X restock : Read more
    Yep, and considering how much Microsoft paid to buy Zenimax, I'd expect nothing less. Fingers crossed that Starfield lives up to the hype on release.
    Reply
  • russell_john
    Bloodklot said:
    This article is so thirsty to get PlayStation users to buy an Xbox 😂 No one should buy an Xbox because of one game especially one by Bethesda. Not after all those recent shitty games they’ve been releasing. Fallout and Elder Scrolls were HUGE disappointments and a shell of their former selves. It’s no wonder they bit at the chance to sell out to Microsoft. And no one needs to buy an Xbox to play exclusives. You just need a pc or Gamepass subscription. Someone smart would wait till Starfield releases, and wait a few months to see if it’s worth it.

    By the same logic no one should buy a PS5 just to play one game either .....

    Here is another reason Sony is being left by the wayside with Bethesda ..... They won't allow modding and Bethesda's Business Model now pushes modding because it has stretched out the life and playability of games like Skyrim and Fallout 4 and Microsoft has plans to make the Xbox even more Modder friendly because the Series X and PS5 are now on par with a PC for modding because they are essentially the exact same hardware from the CPU to the GPU to the memory controller to PCIe 4.0 buss ...... This means experienced PC Modders will be easily able to port their PC mods over to the Xbox which was limited on the ancient Xbox One platform and not even possible on Sony's closed proprietary system

    Mod Edit - Keep it civil
    Reply
  • Bloodklot
    russell_john said:
    By the same logic no one should buy a PS5 just to play one game either .....

    Here is another reason Sony is being left by the wayside with Bethesda ..... They won't allow modding and Bethesda's Business Model now pushes modding because it has stretched out the life and playability of games like Skyrim and Fallout 4 and Microsoft has plans to make the Xbox even more Modder friendly because the Series X and PS5 are now on par with a PC for modding because they are essentially the exact same hardware from the CPU to the GPU to the memory controller to PCIe 4.0 buss ...... This means experienced PC Modders will be easily able to port their PC mods over to the Xbox which was limited on the ancient Xbox One platform and not even possible on Sony's closed proprietary system
    Why buy an Xbox when all their exclusives can be played on PC or with Gamepass. There’s absolutely no reason to buy an Xbox. PlayStation however have exclusives that aren’t even accessible on PC. And Fallout 76 and ESO were complete disasters. It’s no wonder why Bethesda was quick to sell. Anyone with any brains would wait to see if starfield is even worth it. Any past consumer experience with Bethesda in the past would tell you NO ONE should pre order that game.

    Mod Edit - Keep it civil
    Reply