Starfield set to release in "late 2022" according to reporter

Update: Starfield isn't coming this year, but it will still make the cut off for 2022, according to the latest rumors about Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG.

Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, who has a solid record of teasing out details for games early, started a Twitter thread earlier today where he shot down rumors of Starfield being poised to arrive by the end of 2021. A few hours later, he followed up that denial with a claim of his own: Bethesda is planning to release Starfield in late 2022, and it will tease that date for the game at E3 2021. If true, keep a close eye on Bethesda's shared event with Xbox and check out our E3 2021 schedule for all the rest of the presentations that have been announced so far.

Rumors like this keep floating around but Starfield is nowhere near done, according to several ppl familiar with development. It'll be at E3 but the planned release date I've heard is way later than most people expect. Sharing this so that folks keep their expectations in check https://t.co/LVFzmX1XYuMay 20, 2021

Over the last few weeks and months, we've seen no shortage of claims surrounding Starfield, with some claims that Bethesda was aiming to launch their new game later this year in 2021. Schreier's claim is just the latest in a very long line of rumors, although given his track record, this claim is significantly more reliable than the previous rumors floating around.

Article continues below

We know relatively little about Bethesda's new RPG so far. One thing we know is that it'll feature a brand new engine from the developer, as Bethesda revealed late last year that they'd be overhauling their engine for the development of not only Starfield but The Elder Scrolls 6 as well. Both games appear to be quite some distance away, but we can pretty safely assume that the latter is further out from eventually seeing the light of day.

In fact, we aren't even sure which platforms Starfield will eventually launch on (and there's been no shortage of rumors surrounding that topic either). A previous rumor claimed that the developer is aiming to launch the RPG on PC, but also on Xbox as a console exclusive, skipping out a PlayStation release entirely. Right now, no one knows which platforms Starfield will be launching on, not even PlayStation boss Jim Ryan, as he revealed he's just as much in the dark as we are as to Bethesda's plans.

For every game confirmed to be launching this year so far, head over to our new games 2021 guide for more.

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.