Bethesda seems to have settled onto their own conclusions on how the audience views Starfield, and this should be food for thought for the game’s most ardent critics.
As we reported last week, design director Emil Pagliarulo shared his opinion that Bethesda’s diversion into the outer reaches of space is both the hardest game the studio had to make, and also their best game. But that’s not all he said.
To quote Pagliarulo in his interview with Gamesradar directly:
“It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but what is? We created a new IP, from the ground up, and an experience that is absolutely unique on consoles. And I’m not saying Starfield is better or worse than any other game – just different in what we offer.
It’s that weird Bethesda blend of immersion, action, and RPG… but also different [to] Bethesda’s other RPGs. Starfield is developing its own unique fanbase – it’s big, and it’s growing.
Bethesda used to feel like the studio of Elder Scrolls. Then it was the studio you’d associate with Elder Scrolls and Fallout. Now it’s Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and Starfield. Bethesda Game Studios’ big three.”
We know there are already fans eager to dispute Pagliarulo and Bethesda, but you see, the studio is just being honest. And they’re being honest not only about just how people talk about Starfield, but also about how they have been playing Starfield.
Because there is no lack of YouTube videos citing incredibly long playtimes for Starfield, who then go on to give severely harsh reviews and poor scores for Starfield. Even fanboys have pointed out the glaring disparity in continuing to play a game you claim to dislike for hundreds of hours.
This disparity is also made clear in the game’s MetaCritic store of 6.8, and its blockbuster sales and player numbers. As of December 21, it had reached over 13 million players, across Game Pass and everyone who actually bought the game.
Other press have grappled to explain this disparity, but Starfield isn’t really an outlier in the industry. EA’s sports games, Activision’s Call of Duty games, Overwatch 2, Fortnite, are all the same in this regard. And if you still aren’t understanding Starfield’s real success, consider that it has the exact opposite problem that Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has ($ 200 million versus $ 300 million budget).
So, if we are understanding Pagliarulo and Bethesda correctly, they are not just making excuses or rationalizing for a poorly made product to the public. They believe that they have fans who really dislike Starfield, and there are also genuine Starfield fans who like what the others dislike.
And they may even have data that helps them identify these different fandoms, data that we only think we know from our ‘common sense’.
It’s a common criticism that game companies prioritize their own profits over giving the gamers what they want. But what gamers may not always remember or realize, is sometimes they don’t see this disparity between their words and actions, and they don’t even really know what they want.
