Starfield has New Game+ but with "a unique and exciting twist"

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How your character's skills and equipment may carry over remains to be seen

Starfield gameplay trailer vista
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield has a New Game+ mode, ensuring you can keep playing Bethesda's enormous sci-fi RPG even after you eventually roll credits.

That's according to a new GQ interview featuring Bethesda boss Todd Howard, Starfield lead Emil Pagliarulo, and several other members of the Bethesda team. GQ writes that Starfield "gives you the flexibility and options to carve out a unique identity, and even adds a unique and exciting twist on New Game+ to incentivize continued and repeat play."

This description is partly the paraphrasing of the author, and the exact nature of this "unique and exciting twist" remains to be seen. Still, the confirmation of some sort of New Game+ offering is sure to excite Starfield hopefuls. It also comes as a surprise since the likes of Skyrim and Fallout 4 didn't feature traditional New Game+ modes. This makes me wonder if Starfield's take will be less of a fresh, keep-all-your-stuff playthrough and more of an endless mode, letting you wander space to your heart's content. 

Bethesda's open-world RPGs are difficult to 'beat' in the first place if you want to truly see it all, and while we don't know quite how it plays, it sounds like Starfield will introduce a degree of post-game to add even more hours to your play time. This ought to be good news for those who can't find it in them to stop after one playthrough, but want to keep the same character going rather than starting all over. 

In many ways, Starfield is "more Oblivion than Skyrim," according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, but not even Oblivion had true New Game+. 

Austin Wood
Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with GamesRadar+ since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.