Starfield is one of the most anticipated games of the decade and we’ve seen plenty of information from Bethesda, yet there are still some big questions left unanswered.
The countdown for Starfield’s release is now well and truly on, with early access beginning on Aug. 31 ahead of the worldwide release on Sept. 5, and we cannot contain our excitement.
There will be plenty to do and discover in your journey across the stars, with vast customization options, romances to experience, planets to explore, and outposts to build, but there are some major unanswered questions—with 10 of the most pressing found below.
How many companions can you have?
Starfield will introduce us to a staggering number of recruitable companions, though we don’t know how many we can recruit at one time and whether we are limited to just one companion alongside us when we are exploring off-ship.
We know that we can recruit people to work on our ship and on outposts, but is there a limit to how many we can have? Or can I establish an outpost into a little town full of people, all with different roles to play?
It’s also unknown how the companion system will work when managing crew and how easy it will be to move people around into different roles or onto different ships.
Is there a limit to the number of ships and bases?
Speaking of ships, we’ve been told we can have several ships at our disposal to build a fleet, but we haven’t been given a definitive number, and we also don’t know if it’s possible for companions to fly your ships in a squadron for space combat.
The hope is that Starfield will allow for several ships in the fleet, allowing you to specialize in different areas, and, hopefully, the same freedom will apply to outposts, allowing us to build several on different planets to vary the resources we receive.
While multiple ships and outposts are expected, we’re yet to discover what the limit is and whether it can be increased.
Related: All Starfield ship building and customization details so far
What happened to Earth?
Starfield has over 1,000 planets to discover but some of them you will have already heard of. We’ve seen some of Mars, and we’ve heard talk of Pluto having its planetary status restored, but what has happened to our little blue dot?
Given you can visit our solar system, it would be a surprise if Earth was there and you couldn’t visit it, though it may be that it is now a barren landscape like Mars after being stripped of all its resources, or a nuclear wasteland after a war broke out.
Perhaps Earth isn’t there at all and the planet was completely obliterated. For now, all we can do is guess.
Can you fly freely between planets?
We’ve seen footage of landing and take-off on planets, and we’ve seen space combat, but we haven’t seen traversal from planet to planet, and we haven’t seen if it is possible to freely fly from one planet to another.
It may be that each planet has an area of space above it for navigation and combat but you have to trigger travel to another planet through a menu, or it could be like No Man’s Sky where you see a planet in the distance and can fly there manually.
Hopefully, it’s the latter. No Man’s Sky’s free-flying really empathizes just how vast the vacuum of space truly is and a similar feature in Starfield would be welcomed.
Is there an autopilot feature?
Of course, not everyone is interested in flying everywhere manually, particularly if there’s a lot of empty space and not much to do, so an autopilot feature would also be welcomed to help us travel from point to point.
If it does exist, how in-depth is it? Can I take off from a planet and choose another location on the same planet to travel to, or do I have to re-enter the atmosphere and do it manually? When flying from one planet to another, is it automatic or does it result in a loading screen?
Until we get our hands on Starfield and try it for ourselves, we just don’t know.
Related: Starfield contraband system, explained
Will mods work on console?
Bethesda is renowned for its acceptance of mods, with the likes of Skyrim and Fallout 4 benefitting significantly from mods built by the community, and Starfield will have similar benefits—though we don’t know what the full scope on Xbox will be.
Will mods be available at launch on Xbox, or will there be a delay? Will there only be a set number of approved mods or are we given an entirely blank slate? And just how mod-friendly will Starfield truly be?
As an Xbox exclusive, we certainly hope Starfield players on console have the same access to mods as those on PC, but we’ll have to wait patiently.
How unique are planets and POIs among players and between different campaigns?
Bethesda has explained how planets work in Starfield, with the environments and locations of the planets being set, while what you find on the planet is procedurally generated—though we don’t know the full extent of that.
Will each planet have designated locations that are generated into existence, or is it random? Will I find something in my playthrough that my friend hasn’t, or will it still be there if I start a new save?
Planets in Starfield have quite a variety, with only 10 percent said to hold life, and again, is this life generated procedurally or will I find the same creatures on a planet as a previous playthrough?
How does religion affect your character?
Religion exists in Starfield, with three confirmed religions existing; The Enlightened, House Va’ruun, and Sanctum Universum. Each of them has different beliefs that stem beyond just the existence of a God, instead impacting how they develop and behave.
We know that you can choose religion as a trait when creating a character in Starfield, but we don’t know the full extent of what that means. Does it provide new story dialogue, opportunities, and missions? Or is it simply aesthetic?
If you do choose a religion, are you locked in permanently, and, if you end your belief, does that come with consequences?
Can you have pets?
Skyrim had animal companions, as well as pets you could add to your home in the DLC, while Fallout 4 had Dogmeat. But we don’t know whether a pet system or an animal companion feature will exist in Starfield.
If there are pets, can they travel around with me, or are they restricted to living in an outpost or on a ship? If I find a creature in the wild that I really like, am I able to recruit it as a pet? Can I turn an outpost into a zoo?
I sincerely hope we get space dogs and space cats, at least. If they aren’t in the base game, I really hope it gets added by mods or through DLC.
Related: The 7 most anticipated Starfield features
Is there intelligent alien life?
As mentioned, 10 percent of the planets in Starfield will have life on them, and we’ve seen some examples. But what we haven’t seen is any intelligent alien life or humanoid creatures—so do they exist?
Games like Mass Effect have introduced a variety of different space races to the game, yet from what we’ve seen from Starfield so far, humanity’s venture into the stars is yet to result in any interaction with other intelligent beings.
Of course, there are robots, that much we know, but we’re still waiting to see if we can discover any green-skinned friends.
