The Starfield Free Lanes update is adding the spacefaring RPG's answer to Vault-Tec Bobbleheads from Fallout 3, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76 on April 7, 2026 - with a new twist for those who collect them all.
Players have submitted a lot of requests to Bethesda in the three years since Starfield first took flight. The studio is working through some of the biggest of those in the incoming Free Lanes update, as it introduces expansions to space travel and refinements to customization, exploration, and endgame content.
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Speaking to GamesRadar+ as part of a visit to Bethesda Game Studios, lead creative producer Tim Lamb was quick to stress that the Starfield team has also been looking at some of the smaller pieces of feedback and suggestions from the community. One such request came in the form of players wanting an equivalent of Fallout's bobblehead collectible – something the team was only too happy to accommodate.
"We are introducing the Colony War Action Heroes. These are the toys that were made for the Colony Wars, and they function similarly to the Vault-Tec bobbleheads that you can find in some of our other games," says Lamb, "and we have 27 of them in total."
Every time you locate a Colony War figure out in the wilds, it'll provide a buff to your character, much like the Vault Boy figurines that can be found across Bethesda's three Fallout titles.. Some may increase your stealth viability or increase damage of laser weapons, while others will make healing items heal more. And as a nice added bonus, "yes, they all have unique pickup sounds," laughs Lamb.
Starfield did technically land with both Magazines (which provide permanent stat bonuses) and collectible Snow Globes, but the Colony War Action Heroes are designed to be more fun for players to not only find but display too.
"We were really inspired by the toys we had when we were kids, which made making them really fun for us. There are even packaged versions of the figures that you can put into a display case," says Lamb, speaking to some of the additions to Outpost building and furnishing. "And for the kids that weren't collectors, you can put them into a Colony Wars playset – which is another fun way to display your action figures."
I've never been all that interested in the building and Outpost management elements of Starfield, but the playset did pique my interest. It's a silly addition, and one that really has very little bearing on the wider game, but it is fun. And with Bethesda also taking steps to create more interesting locations for you to now call home as part of the Free Lanes update, I'm certainly tempted to give interior decorating another shot… You know, if I can figure out where all 27 of these action figures are located across the Settled Systems.
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