Starfield Has Even Fewer Players Than Skyrim On PC

Starfield was supposed to be Bethesda’s (and Xbox’s) big break, considering the anticipation that surrounded it prior to its release, but it seems all that has fallen short, at least for PC gamers. Outside of the Game Pass ecosystem, the game’s SteamDB stats illustrate that Starfield currently has even fewer players than The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim—Bethesda’s 12-year-old RPG from 2011.

As one can comprehend from the charts shown on SteamDB — unofficial tracking website focusing on Steam stats — Starfield’s player count has seen nothing but a decline from the day it was released. It peaked high and well 2 months ago when the sci-fi space exploration RPG made landfall, but that’s clearly a thing of the past now as the title struggles to keep up with its decade-old counterpart Skyrim. 

As the news found itself circulating over Reddit, fans and players have jumped in on the conversation, contemplating what Starfield’s future holds. “I think Bethesda spent too much time focusing on procedurally generated content for Starfield instead of handcrafting their dungeons and questlines. I didn’t care for Starfield until I started actively avoiding the procedural content,” says u/Castelante.

Another one of the top comments under the post simply reads, “It’s just so bland,” and many couldn’t agree more. Although Starfield has made bank for Bethesda up until now, being the best-selling title in Germany in its launch month, and the studio’s biggest launch to date, it hasn’t sat with fans and critics on the same level, with many calling the game out for its intrinsically shallow in-game world, among other issues. 

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Despite the ailing situation of the sci-fi shooter, the Bethesda higher-ups seem to sport a different opinion about Starfield, hinting that even if it doesn’t do well these days, it’s going to make things work out in the future, all thanks to Xbox Game Pass offering players the opportunity to enjoy the likes of Starfield for free. 

One of the things we’ve learned from our previous games, from Skyrim, from Fallout, is that people want to play them for a very long time. So Starfield, I would say, was the most intentional, going into it, that this is a game people are going to play for a long time,” said Todd Howard. 

Starfield was released on September 6, 2023, for the Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam and Game Pass. In eXputer’s review, the game was rated 3.5/5, with Asad Ahmed praising the title for its in-depth character customizer, spacecraft modifications, and more. If you happen to be a new player, here are all the powers and effects in Starfield to start off right.