Will Starfield have multiplayer? What the developers have said
Will Starfield be a solo or friend-filled affair?
Starfield is almost here and we can’t wait to get exploring the galaxy and causing mischief and mayhem across the many planets and space stations on offer.
But as you may have noticed when looking up the night sky, space is a lonely place, and we’d love to enjoy it with some friends - so we’re left looking at what the developers have said to answer the question, will Starfield have multiplayer?
Mainline entries of Bethesda’s series such as The Elder Scrolls and Fallout have been single-player affairs, but they have boasted complementing multiplayer experiences by way of The Elder Scrolls Online and Fallout 76 - although these are developed by ZeniMax Online Studios rather than Bethesda Game Studios.
We’ll be searching high and low - and through space (and maybe even time) itself - to answer the most pressing question of all, so read on to find out everything you need to know about the situation regarding Starfield and any potential inclusion of multiplayer.
Will Starfield have multiplayer at launch?
Starfield will not have multiplayer at launch. Todd Howard told the world back in 2020 during an interview with James Batchelor of Gameindustry.biz that Starfield was “a single-player game”.
If you look at Starfield’s Steam listing, it says as much too.
Fortunately, there are plenty of virtual friends for us to explore the galaxy with, such as the charming robot, Vasco, so hopefully we won’t feel too lonely when gazing upon new worlds and blowing up space pirates.
In fact, there are meant to be masses of great characters in the game - so we may end up opting to live our entire lives in the world of Starfield, as it looks to be one of the most feature-rich and in-depth titles of all time.
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Will Starfield ever add multiplayer post-launch?
It is unlikely that Starfield will ever add multiplayer post-launch. One only has to look at their prior games such as Fallout 4 and Skyrim to see how, although they changed over time, they remained resolutely single-player experiences.
Bethesda’s focus will no doubt switch to Starfield DLCs and upcoming The Elder Scrolls 6 - leaving any potential multiplayer experience to be handled by ZeniMax Online Studios.
Though, given the complexity of the game, which includes being able to stack sandwiches and have them stay there forever, we can’t imagine that a multiplayer experience would be as granular - and may shape up to be something quite different.
We’d love to have a ship being crewed by all our pals, but such experiences may be deferred to games like Star Citizen for the time being.
Read more on Starfield:
- Starfield review - our final verdict
- Starfield missions list - how far are you?
- Starfield tips and tricks - how to get started
- Starfield romance - all potential relationships
- Starfield character creation - all your options explained
- Starfield digipick - how to lockpick
- How long is Starfield? The hours you'll need
- Will Starfield ever come to PS5? Developer comments
- Starfield cast - all voice actors
- Starfield companions - who to recruit
- Starfield soundtrack - how to listen
- Starfield storage guide - don't be overburdened
- Starfield FOV - change your point of view
- Starfield FPS - developers explain 30fps
- Starfield PC requirements - specs needed
- Starfield performance - potential fixes
- Starfield factions - all possible groups
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Authors
Cole Luke is a freelance journalist and video producer who contributes to RadioTimes.com's Gaming section. He also has bylines for Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, Network N and more.
