Xbox and Bethesda should never have dated Starfield 17 months from release

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Bethesda and Xbox have announced that Starfield
, the hugely hyped open-world RPG from the team behind The Elder Scrolls and Fallout, is going to miss its much-publicized 11.11.22 release date. In fact, it’ll now release at some point during the first half of 2023. Having been hyping up this date since June 2021, this delay is more than a little bit surprising. And dare I say it, a legitimate reason for people to be annoyed.

It’s not that we haven’t become accustomed to seeing images posted on official publisher social media accounts detailing delays. When Covid hit and workforces sensibly moved to remote working, we saw tens of them – company logo, clear font, apology, the right thing to do, etc. Games getting delayed is nothing new, and I think people now expect things to move around the release schedule. The key point with Starfield is how far in advance of the planned release we were given the date. It’s been 11 months since 11.11.22 was given to us. It was so far off (another 6 months from today) that it felt locked in. Why date something that far off unless you’re absolutely sure, right?

Delays are clearly a good thing when it comes to the quality of the game in question. Nobody wants Starfield rushed out, resulting in months (perhaps years) of updates along the lines of the Cyberpunk 2077 saga. But I think it’s fair to ask why this release date was promised so far in advance. It set up expectations when none were needed. If the plan was always to aim for late 2022, wait until summer 22 and announce the date then. Give yourself some time to get it right. We were during the peak of a global pandemic in June 2021. No one would have minded if we hadn’t have been given a date.

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