After three months of being on the market, Starfield has launched past the 12 million player milestone, leading to Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer illuding to it being a Skyrim-level success story. It’s not impossible, but it has a ways to go before it can even come close to the same level.
Spencer took center stage during an interview at CCXP, declaring the large number and how he knew it was going to be a “pretty special game” while playing it around that time last year. It’s worth pointing out there is a disconnect on how many people purchased the game as opposed to giving it a shot on Game Pass, which like all other first-party Microsoft games, has been on the service since launch.
We know that the day Starfield dropped on the service, it broke signup records. In comparison to Bethesda’s more established games like Skyrim or Fallout 4, those sold 60 and 25 million copies, respectively, since launch. Spencer also notes that the goal is to make this another certified hit like the aforementioned games, wanting people to stick with the space exploration sim just like players have stuck with the fantasy-focused Skyrim.
The only way we could truly anticipate the title standing the test of time is once Bethesda adds official mod support to Starfield and lets players go wild. It’s not that hard to see that Fallout and Elder Scrolls’ modding communities really brought life to the otherwise notable — in their own rights — games.
