Evidently, Xbox played a pivotal role in advising Bethesda to delay the release of Starfield, an initial plan to launch it a year ahead of schedule. Undoubtedly, Starfield holds immense significance for Xbox, representing a game of utmost importance.
Despite its widespread appeal, the Xbox brand has historically faced tough competition, notably trailing behind its rival, PlayStation, and openly acknowledging past challenges in the so-called “console war.“
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Xbox To Lock Horns With PlayStation With Exclusive Games
Starfield stands as a crucial opportunity for Xbox to demonstrate its capability to reach the standards set by PlayStation with its exclusive titles. It becomes paramount for the company’s success that this game lives up to the immense hype, especially considering the substantial investment they made in acquiring Bethesda to bring this project to fruition.
Hence, it comes as no shock to discover that Xbox has been significantly engaged in the development of Starfield, reportedly encouraging Bethesda to postpone its release by a year to ensure its completion—a move that garnered immense praise from fans. This valuable insight was divulged by none other than the Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, during a recent appearance on the Giant Bomb podcast, where he also discussed the game’s acquisition.
Spencer revealed that upon finalizing the acquisition, Starfield was initially slated for a much earlier release than the current schedule. However, acknowledging the importance of delivering a polished product, they engaged in discussions with the Starfield team.
“Truth be told, when the acquisition closed this game had a significantly earlier ship date than where we’re actually launching in.”
Xbox discussed the matter with the Starfield team with the intention of granting them the necessary time to ensure the game’s completion.
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Is Delaying Starfield The Right Move For Xbox
Undoubtedly, the decision to delay the release of Starfield might have been challenging, but it unquestionably proved to be the right course of action. As the games industry saying goes, “A delayed game is eventually good, but a rushed game is forever bad.” Nintendo embraced this very philosophy when handling their major 2023 launch, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, dedicating an entire year to fine-tune and refine the game’s features to perfection.
There’s a general understanding of Bethesda games and their historical issues with bugs and performance. Considering the overwhelming hype surrounding Starfield, it will undoubtedly need to approach near perfection to meet people’s lofty expectations. Fortunately, Xbox has reportedly stepped in to aid the Starfield team with quality assurance, assuring fans that the game will have significantly fewer bugs compared to previous Bethesda titles.
The wait for what numerous enthusiasts believe will be a Game of the Year contender is quickly dwindling. The mounting pressure is evident, particularly as a significant number of fans are acquiring Xbox consoles for the sole purpose of experiencing this game, and countless others are preparing to take time off from work to immerse themselves in the expansive universe of Starfield for as long as they can.
Starfield is set to make its highly-anticipated debut on September 6, exclusively available for the Xbox Series X/S and PC platforms.
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Source: Gaming Bible
