Starfield Is 'Skyrim In Space' Claim Bethesda Execs

We're blasting off to a new frontier, as Bethesda's long-awaited Starfield finally opens the airlock and spits out its secrets. E3 2021 was even bigger than we first thought, and with the glorious union of Bethesda and Microsoft, its showcase was a highlight of the gaming extravaganza. 

While Bethesda is known for the likes of The Elder Scrolls and Fallout (to name a few), the acclaimed developer is delivering its first new IP in 25 years. That alone was enough to give Starfield some impressive hype, but since the game's official reveal in 2018, we've been adrift in a cosmos of rumours and theories. Now, those at the top have described it as Skyrim in space.

How is Starfield 'Skyrim in space'?

Following our first proper look at Starfield, Bethesda Game Studios Executive Producer Todd Howard sat down with Launcher and boldly said, "It's like 'Skyrim' in space", when discussing the next-gen title. Bethesda has apparently been trying to make a straight-up sci-fi game for years, but has held off until technology could match its bold ambitions.

"We’ve known for a while that if and when we do something else, it would be science fiction," explained Howard. Apparently, the Bethesda team created its own universe that included a 300-year timeline of fictional scientific development. Although it's only theorising, Starfield shows where the human race "could" be in 300 years.

Unlike the release of The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim in 2011, Howard promised Starfield will be more "robust" than our record-breaking trip to Tamriel. Considering Skyrim is held as one of the greatest games of all time, it's only a good thing that Starfield is using it as a blueprint. 

What other influences does Starfield have?

If you think Starfield will just be a Skyrim rip-off, rest assured that other pop culture phenomenons have influenced the game. Bethesda Managing Director Ashley Cheng gave a nod to the galaxy far, far away: "For me, ‘Starfield’ is the Han Solo simulator. Get in a ship, explore the galaxy, do fun stuff". It's interesting that there's an R2-D2 and C-3PO knock-off in the form of a robot called Vasco.

In a separate interview with The Telegraph, Howard added, "The game is set about 300 plus years in our own future. And Constellation is this kind of last group of space explorers. It’s like NASA meets Indiana Jones meets the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a group of people that are still searching for answers". 

For Bethesda, the big hitter has always been the post-apocalyptic Fallout franchise, however, Cheng admitted, "But after seven years of ‘Fallout,’ it’s a little nice to slip away to be working on something so new and fresh". Starfield has been out there in the cold depths of space for nearly a decade, so it makes sense it's here to lead the way with Bethesda's future and partnership with Microsoft. 

Images via Bethesda