Starfield developer reveals "there's no sci-fi movie or show" that hasn't inspired the space RPG in some way

A developer working on Starfield has revealed that "there's no sci-fi movie or show that hasn't inspired Starfield in some way" - including everything from Event Horizon to Cowboy Bebop.

Emil Pagliarulo, design director at Bethesda who is currently working on Starfield, has revealed on Twitter what sci-fi films have inspired the developers working on the highly anticipated RPG. In a Twitter thread, Pagliarulo wrote: "Some folks have asked me what other movies, besides Prospect, have that Starfield vibe."

Although the developer was unable to give too many examples, with fear of heading into spoiler territory, Pagliarulo did say that since you can infiltrate the Crimson Fleet "as kind of a space cop and report back to your superiors" in the game, Donnie Brasco would be a good film to watch to get in the Starfield mindset.

🧵(1/3) Some folks have asked me what other movies, besides Prospect, have that Starfield vibe. I feel I can't really answer that specifically without getting into reveal/spoiler territory, and that's something I can't and won't do.March 25, 2023

(3/3) But seriously, I don't think there's a sci-fi movie or TV show out there that hasn't inspired Starfield's many devs in some way, from Space: 1999 to Cowboy Bebop to Event Horizon to Silent Running. It's outer space, after all - there's room for everything. 🤓March 25, 2023

Other influences include films and shows like Space: 1999, Silent Running, Event Horizon, and even the anime Cowboy Bebop. This list isn't exhaustive, though, as Pagliarulo explains in their tweet: "I don't think there's a sci-fi movie or TV show out there that hasn't inspired Starfield's many devs in some way." Another developer has also described Starfield as featuring a "very realistic" and "NASA-punk" sci-fi world in the past, so it really does sound like Bethesda is taking from several influences for this one.

If it's starting to feel like we've been waiting for Starfield forever, the good news is that we do finally have a new release date - after the upcoming RPG was delayed from November 2022 into 2023 last year. Now, Starfield is set to release on September 6, 2023, exclusively on Xbox Series X/S and PC, which is disappointing news for those expecting it to launch in the first half of the year.

While we wait for Starfield, find out what else we've got to look forward to with our upcoming Xbox Series X games list.

After studying Film Studies and Creative Writing at university, I was lucky enough to land a job as an intern at Player Two PR where I helped to release a number of indie titles. I then got even luckier when I became a Trainee News Writer at GamesRadar+ before being promoted to a fully-fledged News Writer after a year and a half of training. My expertise lies in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, cozy indies, and The Last of Us, but especially in the Kingdom Hearts series. I'm also known to write about the odd Korean drama for the Entertainment team every now and then.