Microsoft is about to drop a major release on PS5. Starfield, the flagship title of this Xbox generation, is coming to Sony’s console - and it will arrive alongside a free update set to significantly reshape how the game feels to play.
Bethesda has now made an announcement that fans have been waiting on for quite some time: Starfield will launch on PS5 on 7 April. Players will be able to buy it for €49.99.
Microsoft’s Xbox strategy shifts with Starfield on PS5
For a while, Microsoft has no longer kept its biggest games exclusive to PC and Xbox, with several already making the jump to Sony’s platform - Forza Horizon 5, Grounded, Sea of Thieves, and Indiana Jones and the Ancient Circle, among others. But Starfield is different.
Created by the studio behind Skyrim, it was designed as a generational release - the emblem of the Xbox brand. Seeing it land on PS5 therefore says a great deal about Microsoft’s wider strategy. As a reminder, it originally launched on Xbox Series and PC in September 2023.
Starfield hasn’t said its last word
While Starfield never became the kind of cultural pillar that Skyrim (Bethesda’s biggest success) was, it still pulled in a huge audience: 13 million players in just three months. It was a commercial success, even as reviews pointed to a formula that felt dated and a universe that wasn’t especially compelling to explore.
Bethesda has taken that feedback on board and has been trying to deepen the experience since, by adding higher-quality content. On 7 April, the studio will release two DLC packs.
Terran Armada: new quests, planets, weapons, and ships
The first, Terran Armada, introduces a new questline in which the player must take on an army of robots. New planets, new weapons, new ships - a traditional-style expansion for anyone looking to carry on their journey.
Free Lanes: a free DLC with major quality-of-life changes
The second is called Free Lanes. This is a free DLC for PC, Xbox, and PS5 players. It layers in a wide range of quality-of-life improvements that meaningfully alter the experience.
New locations will be added, on planets that already exist as well as on others. The housing system will be expanded with new items and bases. A vehicle will be introduced (and it will be able to fly!), along with a new resource for upgrading weapons and more besides. A new cruise mode will also appear: from the cockpit, players will be able to travel from one planet to another and encounter random events.
This content is unlikely to win over anyone who never clicked with Starfield (the overall structure remains the same), but it could give those who were unsure a reason to give it another chance.
Starfield will therefore keep growing over the coming years. Bethesda also has a clear reason to keep players engaged: it has the heavy job of filling the gap until its next blockbuster, The Elder Scrolls VI. The successor to Skyrim, announced in 2018, is currently in development and is not expected to release for several years.
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