Starfield gameplay debut likely coming in summer 2022, Todd Howard teases

Starfield is due for a big gameplay showcase in summer 2022, and it will show off some of the new advancements it's made over Bethesda's previous projects.

Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard pulled the curtain back on the company's reveal plans for Starfield in a wide-ranging Reddit ask-me-anything thread. This specific bit of information came in response to a fan who asked if Starfield has any particular innovations which will help it set a new standard for RPGs, similar to Skyrim's impact on the genre 10 years ago. Howard didn't tease any hot gameplay details in response, but he did confirm something almost as good.

"We prefer to just show it, which should be next summer," Howard said. "We're happy with the advancements we've been able to make, some of which you can see in the trailer shot in-game."

Howard's reference to "next summer" will likely translate to E3 2022. Microsoft and Bethesda finally shared the first Starfield in-engine trailer at their joint E3 2021 showcase, and doing an even bigger reveal for E3 next year would give Bethesda roughly five months to keep stoking player interest until Starfield's planned release date of November 11, 2022.

That's the same hype cycle window Bethesda perfected with Fallout 4 – which was also around the time Howard said the studio settled on pursuing Starfield next, as a now-or-never break between its other popular franchises.

Howard confirmed in the same AMA thread that the Fallout TV show is still "moving ahead" despite going quiet since its initial announcement.