How big is Starfield? – Map size and Playtime

Just how big is Starfield? That’s actually a great question on two fronts: the space RPG’s massive map size, and the total playtime required to complete it.

Like any Bethesda title, we can expect Starfield to be a massively open-world game. Also, we can expect a lengthy main campaign with even more gameplay for those wanting to experience optional content. Let’s take a look at just how big Starfield is.

How big is the map in Starfield?

Just like our actual universe, the explorable map size in Starfield is massive. In total, there are over 100 different star systems, featuring over 1,000 planets. Around 10% of the planets in Starfield contain life, with the rest being inhabitable or hosting extreme living conditions.

Also, some of the planets in Starfield are handcrafted while others are procedurally generated based on certain parameters when you land on them. According to Bethesda Game Studios Game Director and Executive Producer Todd Howard, it just isn’t realistic to handcraft them all.

“There’s no way we’re going to go and handcraft an entire planet. What we do is we handcraft individual locations and some of those are placed specifically,” Howard stated in an interview with the Kinda Funny Xcast. “Like, the main cities and other quest locations, and then we have a suite of them that are generated or placed when you land depending on that planet.”

So the massive map size of Starfield features some handcrafted planets. I’m sure those that are important to story elements are. Also, despite only 10% of planets having life, there may be other interesting things to find on other planets. Based on what we’ve seen far, some planets have unique places of interest and explorable locales.

How long is Starfield?

Even though we don’t know exactly how long Starfield is just yet, Howard stated back in 2022 that the main campaign would take 30-40 hours to complete on average. Of course, side missions and exploration are a big part of Starfield. According to Bethesda Game Studios senior VP of Global Marketing and Communications Pete Hines, he has 150-160 hours in a single playthrough with much more to explore.

This falls in line with other Bethesda titles. Even though there’s plenty of meat to the main campaign itself, there’s even more for those wanting to do more. It’s very likely that for those wanting to explore most of Starfield, you will be looking at over 100 hours.

We’ll know more concrete details about how big Starfield is when it releases in early access on September 1.