Starfield, the long-awaited space epic from Bethesda Game Studios, is soaring to astronomical heights after its official launch on September 6.
Phil Spencer, CEO of Microsoft Gaming, took to social media to herald a pivotal achievement Starfield: officially crossing one million concurrent players across Xbox Series S/X and PC platforms, making it one of the most successful launches for Bethesda.
Before you celebrate this as an unparalleled victory, though, remember the game had an early access phase beginning September 1, for those who couldn’t resist the allure of buying a premium edition. According to an unofficial source, it’s a figure that was already met in Early Access, but that’s not to take away from this celebrated moment.
Starfield exceeded 1 million concurrent players across all platforms today. Thanks to all the players who helped us reach this great milestone and congrats to the @BethesdaStudios https://t.co/5jFaCyPz4G
— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) September 7, 2023
The timing of this news, right before US Eastern Standard Time rolled over, underlines the significance of Starfield. The concurrent player count isn’t to be confused with total sales or users, however; it’s a snapshot showing over a million people were logged into the Starfield universe simultaneously. Still, this metric indicates massive interest, likely with an even larger cumulative player count waiting in the wings for the next big announcement.
It’s easy to see why Starfield is generating so much buzz. Gamers and critics alike are lauding the title’s sheer scale and depth. It’s easy to lose dozens of hours playing through miscellaneous missions and it’s clear that, despite all the flaws, bugs, and issues, it’s a game that we only get once or twice every generation. Phil Spencer and Pete Hines definitely did not lie when they mentioned in earlier interviews that spending dozens of hours doesn’t guarantee that you’ll enjoy all that the game has to offer already. Its sprawling universe, filled with handcrafted and procedural content as well as the unlimited potential for mods, is a time-sink worth hundreds if not thousands of hours. The game is so content-rich that it’s only fair to wonder how players have enough time to explore it, especially if you’re balancing it with another rabbit hole of a game like Baldur’s Gate 3.
Of course, the affordability of Xbox Game Pass, with a subscription price as low as $9.99 per month, likely boosted these extraordinary numbers. But it’s also the quality of the game that’s making waves. From the content creators dedicating hours to uncover the game’s secrets to players marveling at its expansive universe, Starfield is already deemed a tour de force in the gaming world. It’s not only fulfilling the promise of an end-to-end space adventure but also seems poised to expand even further, given Bethesda’s history of supporting their games post-launch.
And, not to nitpick, but Starfield’s launch numbers, while impressive, still have room for growth. The figures are yet to eclipse the concurrent player count of Baldur’s Gate 3, which hit nearly 900K on Steam alone, or approach the meteoric first-day sales of Hogwarts Legacy or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, let alone Grand Theft Auto 5’s record-setting high from 2013. It’s worth noting that there might be some skewing of player numbers due to promotional giveaways, especially with new GPUs and CPUs, but the exact numbers remain proprietary.
Even as Starfield enjoys its time in the spotlight, registering over 269,177 concurrent players on Steam alone at the time of its launch and rapidly climbing the Top Paid Games on the Xbox Store, there’s a mix of anticipation and criticism. The community is already craving for more from Bethesda and Starfield, from details to content and even benchmarks to surpass.
As the game’s universe continues to expand and players delve deeper into what could very well be “the biggest single-player game ever,” one thing is clear: Starfield’s journey is only just beginning, and its gravitational pull is already proving irresistible.
