Starfield fans over the moon at ‘game-changer’ update
Bethesda is shooting for the stars with its latest Starfield update, and while we're still a way off seeing it getting a Cyberpunk 2077-inspired resurgence, 2023's sci-fi explorer is still making great progress in hopes of becoming the game it was promised as.
After several delays, Starfield finally took flight in September 2023 and was a pretty typical Bethesda release that was hampered by bugs and hilarious glitches. Unfortunately, it's been a long time since Fallout 4 released in a similar state, meaning players were far less patient this time around.
Starfield fans love 'game-changer' update
Bethesda has been on an uphill battle against Starfield's tumbling review scores, plummeting player numbers, and accusations that Walmart has even been throwing copies out. We've been waiting for the long-promised Shattered Space DLC to give Starfield the CPR it needs, but in the meantime, it's just been given a glossy upgrade.
The Starfield boost comes courtesy of support for third-generation FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and Intel's Xe Super Sampling (XeSS) tech. A beta version launched earlier in February on Steam, but now that it's been fully rolled out, it's been praised as a "game-changer."
Over on Reddit, one fan gushed about the 1.9.67 update, and they aren't alone in their love. Someone else wrote, "My FPS literally doubled; I have a 6800XT, and I went from 1440p 30-40fps to smooth 4K 60fps by tweaking some settings, which was unthinkable before." Another added, "I'm telling ya, this game is aging like fine wine."
Impressively, it looks like it's bringing players back to Starfield. Someone else said, "I launched the game just for 5 minutes to test the performance (I hadn't played it for two months), but without realizing it, I completed two quests and built an outpost on a moon... lol."
They concluded, "Edit : I ended up playing all night even though I had sworn to wait for the expansion 💀" At a time some had written Starfield off, the update is just the boost it needs now.
What's new in the Starfield update?
Click to enlargeVisuals are front and centre of the Starfield update, and in a new blog post, Bethesda explained the benefits of FSR and XeSS. Previously, this supersampling technology could only be used via PC mods, effectively meaning that Starfield is now working harder without pushing your PC.
There are additional fixes for issues for vibrating clouds when using DLSS performance mode, improved stability for saves that have visited many locations, and other miscelnaious fixes. Still, as it's only PC players who can make the most of the latest update, we can't help but be reminded of one redditor saying, "Cries in Xbox."
