How long was Starfield in development?

All eyes are on Starfield as the game inches closer to launch after a lengthy development cycle. There’s a lot riding on it, as it comes after Microsoft’s monumental $7.5 billion acquisition of Bethesda’s parent company, ZeniMax Media. The Xbox exclusive will play a huge role in determining if the investment was worth it.

We’ve known about Starfield for many years, and Bethesda has been working on it for even longer. When looking at the game’s development history, we find a lengthy story featuring a few failed starts and an enduring dream of exploring the stars.

Todd Howard and his sci-fi dream

Bethesda Game Studio’s head, Todd Howard, has been thinking of a sci-fi game since as far back as the 90s. A few times, the studio has found itself in the position to make the sci-fi game Howard has been dreaming of, but fate would always throw a wrench in things. In an interview with the Washington Post, Howard reveals that the studio had the rights to the 70s tabletop sci-fi RPG Traveller in 1994, though “that quickly went away” with nothing to show for it. That same year, the studio released a sci-fi game called Delta V, which received a lukewarm reception.

Delta V isn’t the last time Bethesda dabbled in sci-fi. In 1996, the studio had plans to release a space combat game called The 10th Planet in collaboration with Centropolis Entertainment. It tells a dystopian story where aliens invade our solar system with dastardly plots of taking over Earth. Marketing material from the time reveals that the game had potential, but after several delays, it was eventually canceled. A few years later, Bethesda gained the rights to Star Trek, but as Howard explains in his Washington Post interview, his idea for a Star Trek RPG never came to fruition.

It isn’t useful to view these prior attempts as mere setbacks for the studio, as many of the ideas formed then have influenced Starfield. Trailers for the upcoming game showcase epic dogfights in space that resemble the space combat described in The 10th Planet‘s advertisements. Furthermore, according to Howard, Starfield takes great inspiration from Traveller, though he admits that the tabletop RPG is “a little more hard sci-fi.”

Starfield is born

In 2013, Bethesda trademarked the name Starfield. Research for the game has been extensive, and according to Howard, the studio has created a timeline detailing what happens every decade. Developers looked to NASA for inspiration for the game’s aesthetic, and in a podcast, Howard reveals he has visited SpaceX, as well as the National Air and Space Museum. Bethesda’s had Starfield in active development since it was done with Fallout 4, which launched in 2015, and by 2018, the game was in a playable state.

Starfield is revealed

We got our first peek at Starfield during 2018’s E3 conference, where Bethesda showcased a short teaser for the game. Coming in at just over a minute long, it features an orchestral soundtrack and does little more than reveal the game’s name. At 2021’s E3, we’d get another look at Starfield with a narrated trailer showcasing a spacecraft interior and a takeoff.

Even after the major unveiling, Starfield’s development has been anything but straightforward. It was originally planned as a multiplatform release, but according to Bethesda’s Pete Hines, this changed after Microsoft acquired ZeniMax Media.

There have also been several delays to contend with. It was originally slated for a November 11, 2022 release. This would have been an appropriate date, as it also marks Skyrim‘s eleventh anniversary. Unfortunately, the game was pushed back to 2023, then it was delayed again to September 2023, and there fortunately seems to be no signs of any further delays ahead.

So, how long was Starfield in development? Well, it depends on what you mean. With active development starting in 2015, the most straightforward answer is about 8 years, maybe a decade if you stretch it back to when the game’s name was first trademarked. What’s for certain is that Howard has been thinking about a sci-fi game since at least the 90s, and over two decades later, the dream is finally about to be realized.