It's been said that AAA games can take 5 to 10 years to go from pre-production to going gold and hitting the store shelves. Case in point, GTA 6 has reportedly been in development for nearly as long as GTA 5 has been out. We don't know just how long Bethesda Softworks has worked on Starfield, but rumor has it that the sci-fi title is ready to be shown off ahead of its presumed release later this year.

VGC's Editor-in-Chief, Andy Robinson, recently revealed the "announcement for the Starfield showcase is imminent". YouTuber Raind Al Thor 19 and Windows Central Editor Jez Corden corroborated Robinson's info on a recent Xbox Two podcast episode where they also said that Microsoft and Bethesda will announce the date for the Starfield showcase next week.

Finally, Rand claims to have heard of rumors late last year that Bethesda will hold a Starfield showcase in March or April.

As in, soon

— Andy Robinson (@AndyPlaytonic) February 24, 2023

A March showcase makes sense if Starfield is coming out in June, as presumed. We expect a huge pre-order turnout for the game if it's opened next month, which should reflect in the company's next earnings report.

However, with Redfall coming out on May 2 and Forza Motorsport expected to launch around the same time, Bethesda is better off delaying the game to later this year, specifically, for the holiday season.

To make matters worse for a potential June release window for Starfield, it's the same month as Street Fighter 6 (June 2), Diablo 4 (June 6), and Final Fantasy 16 (June 22) are all coming out.

For what it's worth, Starfield is reportedly already playable from start to finish, so it would make sense to reveal the game soon.

As for whether Starfield is coming out this year or not, the ball is in Bethesda's court.