Summary
- Starfield still has mixed reviews despite strong sales, and may need more content to reignite interest.
- A live-action adaptation like the Fallout TV show might help Starfield gain traction and reach new audiences.
- Such an adaptation has plenty to draw from in the game and could greatly enhance the existing world-building and other aspects.
Starfield may not have received the stellar reception that developer Bethesda was hoping for upon initial launch in 2023. Though it performed well in terms of sales, going on to become the 11th bestselling game that year, reviews and fan reactions to it were largely mixed, and it is currently ranked at that exact rating on Steam. Starfield's design and presentation compared to the studio's more established IPs, and open-world RPGs in general, have been a point of discussion and contention since its release.
Bethesda has put out a number of patches and QOL updates for Starfield, along with its first major expansion. And although the Shattered Space DLC had some cool ideas, it was also thought to be lacking in some of the same areas as the base game, and didn't do enough to evolve or shake up the formula in notable ways. Even so, Bethesda has reiterated that it remains committed to continuing support and creating further content for Starfield. It thus may want to take a note from one of its other properties and its recent successful adaptation to potentially give Starfield the push needed to break out of its inertia.
Starfield May Need to Hit the Emergency Release Button on One Type of Content in 2025
Starfield has found itself adrift, and Bethesda may want to look at adding in specific content that would go a long way towards reigniting interest.
Starfield Getting a Movie or Show Adaptation Like Fallout Could Help Reignite Interest
The Fallout TV Show Gave the Franchise a Huge Boost
Announced in 2020 and premiering on Amazon Prime TV in April 2024, the live-action Fallout show quickly became a big hit due to its strong character work, storytelling, and faithful depiction of the iconic Wasteland. Longtime fans and new viewers alike were drawn in by the high quality of its production. The second season of the Fallout TV show will arrive late this year in December, and has already been renewed for a third season.
The adaptation also inspired many to either return to the Fallout games or jump into them for the first time, with the most recent entry, Fallout 4, experiencing a big spike in player count following the series. Season two of Fallout will feature locations and possible plots from the beloved New Vegas, and excitement is already building for how it will handle these and its existing threads. With Starfield still struggling a bit to capture the attention of fans, at least compared to Bethesda's older staples like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls (which was recently bolstered by the shadow drop of Oblivion Remastered), Starfield potentially following in the former's footsteps could be a good way for it to regain traction.
How Bethesda Could Give Starfield Its Own Live-Action Version
The roadmap for Starfield in 2025 is currently looking rather sparse. While there has been talk of a second major DLC possibly being announced this year, nothing official has come from Bethesda so far. And while there obviously have also been no plans for any kind of live-action version, it is something that Bethesda could consider given the success of the Fallout show.
Though unconfirmed, rumors suggest that Bethesda may be planning to release Starfield on PS5 at some point, which would likely bring in new audiences.
A potential Starfield TV series actually already has a good template should the studio wish to pursue this course. The Expanse, which shares some overall themes and traits with Starfield's NASA-punk vision of the future, also happens to be on Amazon and is one of the most popular hard sci-fi series in recent memory. In a similar way, a Starfield adaptation that fills out more of the solid world-building and touches on items from the game that are ripe for mining material, like the formation of Constellation or The Colony War, would be a great way to present and expand on its setting and story.
Alternatively, if not an episodic format, then perhaps a feature-length film that covers some of the major ground and fleshes out more of the events of Starfield might also be a worthwhile hypothetical endeavor and could resonate with audiences. Either way, there is a lot of potential in such a project that could be the catalyst to bringing Starfield into a stable orbit for the future of the IP.
Starfield
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
