Starfield

Starfield

Developers
	Bethesda Game Studios
	id Software
Publishers
	Bethesda Softworks
Engines
	Creation Engine 2
Release dates
Windows	September 6, 2023
Reception
Metacritic	85
OpenCritic	85
IGDB	87
Taxonomy
Monetization	One-time game purchase, DLC, Subscription gaming service
Modes	Singleplayer
Pacing	Real-time
Perspectives	First-person, Third-person
Controls	Direct control
Genres	RPG, Action, Shooter
Vehicles	Space flight
Art styles	Realistic
Themes	Sci-fi

Starfield is a singleplayer action RPG developed by Bethesda Game Studios, with additional assistance by id Software, and published by Bethesda Softworks. The game marks the first new series created by Bethesda Game Studios since The Elder Scrolls in 1994.

Starfield released on Steam and the Microsoft Store on September 6, 2023, with the game also being included with Xbox Game Pass for PC. It was initially announced at E3 2018 and was given a 2022 release date at E3 2021, which was ultimately delayed to allow for additional development time.

Starfield introduces a new version of Creation Engine and features improved lighting and global illumination effects, alongside implementing technologies from id Software's id Tech engine. It also sees the addition of native 21:9 ultra-widescreen display and unlocked frame rates, which were absent in previous games by the developer.

The game released to generally positive reception from critics and the general gaming audience. Criticism was raised about lacking performance, particularly on high-end Nvidia graphics cards, and the omission of DLSS and XeSS upscaling technologies without mods. Subsequent driver updates and patches have improved performance while other game updates have introduced these two upscaling technologies.

General information

Steam Community Discussions

Availability

Source	DRM	Notes	Keys	OS
GamersGate		Premium Edition also available.
		Premium Edition also available.
Green Man Gaming		Premium Edition also available.
Humble Store		Premium Edition also available.
Microsoft Store		Xbox Play Anywhere. Included with Xbox Game Pass for PC. Premium Edition also available.
Steam		Premium Edition also available.

Version differences

Pre-orders included the Old Mars Skin Pack.

Premium Edition includes the Constellation skin pack, the Shattered Space story expansion, digital artbook, and original soundtrack. Pre-orders of this edition also included five days early access to the game.

Monetization

Type	Notes
DLC	Additional single-player content.
One-time game purchase	The game requires an upfront purchase to access.
Subscription gaming service	Available via Xbox Game Pass for PC.

DLC and expansion packs

Name	Notes
Shattered Space	Story expansion. Part of the Premium Edition; Release date: TBD.
Old Mars Skin Pack	Only included with pre-orders and Xbox Game Pass for PC.
Constellation Skin Pack	Part of the Premium Edition; not available separately.
Digital Premium Edition Upgrade	Constellation Skin Pack, Shattered Space expansion, digital soundtrack and artbook. Given for free to owners of the Premium Edition.

Essential improvements

Skip intro videos

Neither of these remove the copyright/health warning.

Add custom values to configuration file
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Create a new file called StarfieldCustom.ini, if it doesn't exist. Under [General], add or modify the following parameters: sIntroSequence= uMainMenuDelayBeforeAllowSkip=0

Delete or rename video files
Go to <path-to-game>\Data\Video. Delete or rename BGS_LOGO_1080p_BinkVersion.bk2.

Game data

Configuration file(s) location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Starfield\
Microsoft Store	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Starfield\
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1716740/pfx/

Save game data location

System	Location
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\Documents\My Games\Starfield\Saves\
Microsoft Store	%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\BethesdaSoftworks.ProjectGold_3275kfvn8vcwc\SystemAppData\wgs\<user-id>
Steam Play (Linux)	<Steam-folder>/steamapps/compatdata/1716740/pfx/

Save game cloud syncing

System	Native	Notes
OneDrive		Requires enabling backup of the Documents folder in OneDrive on all computers.
Steam Cloud
Xbox Cloud

Starfield XGP Save Importer

A tool to import Steam save files into the Microsoft Store version of Starfield.

XGP-save-extractor

Does the opposite of the above, extracting Microsoft Store save files for use with the Steam version.

Video

Display settings

Interface settings

Accessibility settings

Gameplay settings

Graphics feature	State	Notes
Widescreen resolution
Multi-monitor		Use Flawless Widescreen.
Ultra-widescreen		Improved 32:9, 21:9 and 16:10 support introduced in 1.9.51.0 patch.
4K Ultra HD
Field of view (FOV)		70-110° (1st and 3rd person). Use Flawless Widescreen for weapon FOV.
Windowed
Borderless fullscreen windowed
Anisotropic filtering (AF)		Default value is 4x, see Anisotropic filtering (AF)
Anti-aliasing (AA)		Forced TAA. See Anti-aliasing (AA) for a workaround. FSR can also be used as AA when Render Resolution Scale is at 100. DLAA was added in 1.8.86 update.
High-fidelity upscaling		FSR 3.0, DLSS 3.5, XeSS 1.2 FSR 3 Frame Generation and XeSS upscaling were added in 1.9.67 update.
Vertical sync (Vsync)
60 FPS and 120+ FPS		Some interface elements, such as the ship reticle, update at 30 FPS. See Mods.
High dynamic range display (HDR)		While a "HDR Brightness" option was added in version 1.8.86, displaying in HDR is reliant on Windows 11 Auto HDR. Use the Luma - Native HDR and more mod to add native HDR support.
Ray tracing (RT)

Ultra-widescreen

Remove pillarboxing

Use Flawless Widescreen
Notes Does not properly detect resolution and aspect ratio on some systems[citation needed]

Use RoseTheFlower's fix to remove pillarboxing
Download the file titled Starfield.ultrawide.v1.3.for.anything.zip. Extract the archive and place the version.dll and StarfieldUltrawideRose.asi in the game's installation directory where Starfield.exe is located.

Modify the config file to remove pillarboxing for 32:9 or wider ratios

Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini or create it if it does not exist. Add the following to the file: [Display] fWideAspectLimit=X X should equal the desired aspect ratio as an exact decimal number: 2.3889 for 3440x1440 (21.6:9) 2.4 for 3840x1600 (24:10) 3.5556 for 5120x1440 (32:9) 3.2 for 5120x1600 and 3840x1200 (32:10) 2.3704 for 2560x1080 and 5120dx2160 (64:27) Notes This fix does not change the weapon view model, leaving weapons potentially appearing cut off or too close. Some interface elements may not extend the entire screen width at certain aspect ratios.

Remove pillarboxing from photo mode
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini or create it if it does not exist. Add the following to the file: [Interface] bPhotoModeLetterBoxed=0

Modify the game executable to remove pillarboxing
Open <path-to-game>\Starfield.exe in a hex editor (e.g. HxD). Search for 8E E3 18 40 as hex. Replace it with 39 8E 63 40 for 32:9, or any other aspect ratio in hex. Save the changes. Notes This fix does not work with the Microsoft Store version. This fix will need to be re-applied following file validation or game updates

HUD scaling

Use Flawless Widescreen
Can constrain HUD to 16:9, 16:10, 21:9, or automatic.

Change HUD position manually

Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini or create it if it does not exist. Add the following to the file: [Interface] fSafeZoneXWide=Y Y equals the value of [Xresolution - Yresolution * (Xaspect/Yaspect)] / 2 Example #1 - 16:9 HUD at 3440x1440: [3440 - 1440 * (16/9)] / 2 = 440 Example #2 - 16:9 HUD at 3840x1440: [3840 - 1440 * (16/9)] / 2 = 640 Example #3 - 21:9 HUD at 5120x1440: [5120 - 1440 * (21/9)] / 2 = 880

Borderless Windowed Mode

By default, the game only allows for the resolution to be changed when set to Windowed.

Add custom resolutions to the in-game resolution list

Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini or create it if it does not exist. Add the following along with the desired resolution(s): [Display] sSupportedResolutionsList=1280x720, 1366x768, 1440x900, 1600x900, 1680x1050, 1920x1200, 1920x1080, 2560x1080, 2560x1440, 2560x1600, 3440x1440, 3840x1600, 5120x1440, 5120x1600, 3840x2160, 5120×2160 Notes This is only required if you wish to run the game in (borderless) windowed on an unsupported resolution

Enable borderless windowed mode and allow custom resolutions
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldPrefs.ini. Edit the following lines: bBorderless=1 bFull Screen=0 iSize H=Y iSize W=X Where Y is your desired vertical resolution (e.g. 1080) and X is your desired horizontal resolution (e.g. 1920).

Anisotropic filtering (AF)

Edit the custom configuration file to enable 16x filtering
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini, or create it if it does not exist. Insert the following lines in the file: [Display] fMaxAnisotropy=16.0000

Anti-aliasing (AA)

Disable temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) through a config file:
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini, or create it if it does not exist. Insert the following lines in the file: [Display] bTemporalAA_idTech7=0

Disable temporal anti-aliasing (TAA) through the game console:
Using this method will not persist between game restarts. Opening the console will disable achievements if the game is saved; see Mods. Open the console with the ~ (tilde) key. Type ToggleTAA Off end press ↵ Enter.

Input

Controls settings

Keyboard and mouse	State	Notes
Remapping
Mouse acceleration
Mouse sensitivity
Mouse input in menus
Mouse Y-axis inversion
Controller
Controller support
Full controller support
Controller remapping		Not all actions are able to be rebound.
Controller sensitivity
Controller Y-axis inversion

Controller types

XInput-compatible controllers
Xbox button prompts
Impulse Trigger vibration

PlayStation controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Generic/other controllers		See the glossary page for potential workarounds.

Additional information
Controller hotplugging
Haptic feedback
Digital movement supported
Simultaneous controller+KB/M

• 

  Key bindings (1 of 3)

• 

  Key bindings (2 of 3)

• 

  Key bindings (3 of 3)

Sync Y-axis mouse movement with X-axis mouse movement

Change the Pitch ratio in the config file
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini, or create it if it does not exist. Add the following: [Controls] fIronSightsPitchSpeedRatio=1 fPitchSpeedRatio=1

Change the Mouse Heading Y-Scale Value according to Aspect Ratio in the config file

Go to the configuration file(s) location. Open StarfieldCustom.ini, or create it if it does not exist. Add the following: [Controls] fMouseHeadingXScale=0.021 fMouseHeadingYScale= The fMouseHeadingYScale value is calculated by 0.021 * (horizontal resolution / vertical resolution), or as described below: 0.0373 for 16:9 resolutions 0.05017 for 3440x1440 0.0504 for 3840x1600 0.0747 for 3840x1080 and 5120x1440 (32:9) 0.0672 for 5120x1600 and 3840x1200 0.0498 for 5120x2160

Audio

Audio settings

Audio feature	State	Notes
Separate volume controls
Surround sound		Surround LPCM audio. No Dolby Atmos support.
Subtitles
Closed captions
Mute on focus lost		Game pauses when window is not active. see Keep game running in the background
Royalty free audio

Localizations

Language	UI	Audio	Sub	Notes
English				Configuration code en
Traditional Chinese				Fan translation mods: Unofficial Traditional Chinese Translation or Translation Chinese (zh-Hans To zh-Hant).
Simplified Chinese				Configuration code zhhans
French				Configuration code fr
German				Configuration code de
Italian				Configuration code it
Japanese				Configuration code jp
Polish				Configuration code pl
Brazilian Portuguese				Configuration code ptbr
Russian				Fan translation, download.
Spanish				Configuration code es

Changing interface language

When playing on Steam, the UI/Audio language can be changed by going into the game properties, language tab, selecting the new one and waiting for Steam to update.

Edit configuration file
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Create a new file called StarfieldCustom.ini, if it does not exist. Under [General], add or modify the following parameters, where X is the desired value: sLanguage=x Set sLanguage=en for English, sLanguage=de for German, etc. See the Language table's notes for all available codes.

VR support

3D modes	State	Notes
vorpX		User created game profile, see vorpx forum for introduction.

Other information

API

Technical specs	Supported	Notes
Direct3D	12

Executable	32-bit	64-bit	Notes
Windows

Middleware

	Middleware	Notes
Audio	Wwise
Cutscenes	Bink Video	v2023.02

Hide message of the day

Add custom values to configuration file
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Create a new file called StarfieldCustom.ini, if it doesn't exist. Under [General], add or modify the following parameters: bEnableMessageOfTheDay=0

Keep game running in the background

Add custom values to configuration file
Go to the configuration file(s) location. Create a new file called StarfieldCustom.ini, if it doesn't exist. Under [General], add or modify the following parameters: bAlwaysActive=1

Mods

Starfield Script Extender (SFSE)

Only compatible with the Steam version.

Expands the scripting capabilities of the game.

StarUI Inventory

Improves display and functionality of inventory menus.

Undelayed Launching

Bypasses all introduction screens, including the copyright/health warning and Bethesda logo. Increases main menu frame rate up to 120 FPS.

Undelayed Menus

Improves responsiveness of the in-game menus and increases menu frame rate up to 120 FPS.

BetterHUD

Provides a more immersive HUD.

Smooth Ship Reticle (120FPS Smooth UI)

Changes the ship targeting reticle to update at 120 FPS, instead of the default 30 FPS.

Baka Achievement Enabler (SFSE)

Requires Starfield Script Extender (SFSE) and is not compatible with the Microsoft Store version of the game.

Prevents Steam achievements from being disabled and save games being flagged as modded from using mods or console commands.

Achievement Enabler

Does not require Starfield Script Extender (SFSE) and is compatible with the Microsoft Store version of the game.

Prevents Steam achievements from being disabled and save games being flagged as modded from using mods or console commands.

System requirements

Windows
	Minimum	Recommended
Operating system (OS)	10 21H1	10/11 with updates
Processor (CPU)	AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Intel Core i7-6800K	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X Intel Core i5-10600K
System memory (RAM)	16 GB	16 GB
Hard disk drive (HDD)	125 GB	125 GB
Video card (GPU)	AMD Radeon RX 5700 Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Ti DirectX 12 compatible	AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080
Other	SSD required

A 64-bit operating system is required.