Xbox boss says Starfield isn't a Skyrim reskin: "There's an awful lot of things that move forward with this game"

Starfield gold dude
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield isn't just a space-themed reskin of 2011's The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim, Xbox Studio head Matt Booty explained in a new interview.

A lot of folks - including GR's own Josh West - have worried that Bethesda's first new IP in over 25 years would look and play a lot like Skyrim, but in space. However, during a recent episode of the Friends Per Second vlogcast (via GameSpot), Booty argued that it would be unlike Bethesda's Todd Howard to simply rest on the studio's laurels and pump out a "reskin" of an earlier title. He also said that the team at Bethesda has been keeping him abreast of the game's development and that, from what he's seen, he thinks Starfield will push the envelope in a variety of ways. 

"Having had the chance over the last year and a half or so to spend more time with Todd Howard and see how he works and see what he brings to game design, I'm confident that he's not going to sit still on what was built before, Booty said. "It's not his approach to come in and reskin something. There's going to be an awful lot of things that move forward with this game ... I think there's going to be an awful lot of new stuff that Bethesda fans and Todd Howard fans have not seen, brought to the game. 

I know just from checking in with them the team is hard at work to get that thing all buttoned up and put together. I'm fortunate enough to be involved in the status reports and things, and it's just fun watching them iterate through that level of polish on the game right now."

Jordan Gerblick

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.