Starfield Is About To Receive Its Biggest Update Yet Next Week

Starfield’s Steam beta, a separate version of the game on Steam that PC players have to specifically enroll in, is about to receive its “biggest update yet,” says Bethesda. The promise of over 100 improvements and fixes across the board has been made, and the release date mentioned for the patch to roll out globally for all players is two weeks after the arrival of the Steam beta update at hand. 

Next week, on January 17, we’ll be putting our biggest @StarfieldGame update yet into Steam Beta with over 100 fixes and improvements, with a planned release date for all players two weeks later. Here’s some of what you can expect: pic.twitter.com/IPpVjuG5OQ

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) January 12, 2024

As the developer took it to X to make the announcement, multiple additional posts have been made to detail the players about the rest of the matter, starting with the involvement of fixes for certain Quests in-game, including Eye of the Storm, Temples, and more. If you head over to the r/Starfield subreddit, it’s hard not to observe player complaints regarding bugged missions all over the forum. 

This update contains a multitude of fixes to Quests. Eye of the Storm issues such as being unable to dock with the Legacy or data transfer not starting, and Temples not showing up in Into the Unknown, will no longer prevent Constellation from exploring the cosmos.” 

And not just that, but plainly noticeable graphical improvements are to be expected as well, as laid out by the following subsequent post on X. The before and after shots offer a clear perspective of the upgrade rolling out to the title’s textures, lighting, shadows, and other graphical elements. Starfield has been panned for many things, but the visuals aren’t one of them; the next update seems to be improving on that front even more. 

Additionally, this update brings stability improvements and numerous graphic improvements ranging from additional widescreen support to improved textures, lighting, and shadows. Before / After ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/aYf6V7yOKY

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) January 12, 2024

And lastly, you’ve got more fixes that appear to be focused on “sun disk geometry, planet ring shadows, bulldozed objects reappearing when returning to an Outpost, ship hatches marked inaccessible.” It seems to be a beefy update all right, but fans and players aren’t too happy with what’s been revealed of this forthcoming update so far. “Not hearing anything that will actually make the game more fun to play,” comments one user on X.

Other fixes and improvements include sun disk geometry, planet ring shadows, bulldozed objects reappearing when returning to an Outpost, ship hatches marked inaccessible, and another fix for asteroids following ships. The full update notes will be posted next week when the Steam… pic.twitter.com/Kwqk8olw4r

— Bethesda Game Studios (@BethesdaStudios) January 12, 2024

For those unaware, this update is for Steam beta in particular, which is different from the standard version of Starfield that’s available for end-users to play either on Steam or Xbox. The beta is supposed to help Bethesda test out new features that it plans on bringing to the RPG first-hand with player feedback factoring in.

Other Content to Check Out: 

• Starfield Gets Review-Bombed After Winning Most Innovative Gameplay Award
• Recent Starfield Reviews On Steam Are Now “Mostly Negative”
• Starfield Design Director Responds To Criticism; Says Players Are Disconnected From Reality

Once this “test update” is rolled out, the developer decides whether to push it out into the stable release or make more changes before that as per the response of the beta testers. If you’re not a part of Starfield’s Steam beta yet, here’s how you can enroll. Bethesda is plotting to launch said “biggest update” on January 17, which is just next week. 

Starfield was released on September 6, 2023, for the Xbox Series X|S and PC. eXputer’s 3.5/5.0 review of the game highlights the RPG’s expansive sci-fi universe, great visual appeal, and enjoyable spacecraft customization. If you’re a rather new player, here are the best Factions in the title that you can join for subsequent benefits.