It's a huge day for Bethesda, with the Xbox-owned company releasing its first brand-new IP in over 25 years. To celebrate the launch of Starfield, it's also issued a message to its fans, thanking them for their ongoing support over the years and for getting it across the line with this latest release. Here it is in full:
To all of you who have supported us over the many years and games, a heartfelt thank you for all of your passion and energy for Starfield. We would not have gotten to this moment without it.
It seems like forever ago that we first started talking about making a grand space RPG. It never seemed feasible and we had been lucky enough to create games we (and all of you fortunately!) loved in The Elder Scrolls and Fallout series. Yet, we couldn't shake the idea of exploring the galaxy in ways that only video games could do. And so, we took the leap to create not just our first new IP in over 25 years, but our most ambitious.
All of us here at Bethesda poured ourselves into this game, and through the ups and downs of development, you kept us going. Your messages of encouragement or stories of how our games affected you, kept reminding us how important it is.
Thank you for making video games the best community and entertainment form in the world. Thank you for allowing us to chase our dreams and create them. Creating Starfield has been one of the most challenging and thrilling experiences of our careers - a journey we'll never really forget. And as we come to the end of this chapter, we pass it along to you, where the real journey can now begin - yours. We hope it's as rewarding as ours. We can't wait for you to play.
All our best, Bethesda Game Studios
Starfield's game director Todd Howard has also reportedly shared a special message with Starfield's community on the game's subreddit, mentioning how he's a "long time lurker". Here's what he had to say:
Todd Howard: "Hey everyone! Long time lurker here. A quick THANK YOU for your passion and excitement for Starfield. I can remember when this sub started, and as it's grown, your excitement has fueled all of us at Bethesda. We like to say we have gaming’s smartest fans, and you certainly are. Starfield has been a labor of love for us and the fact that all of you care enough to build a community around it means the world to us. We can’t wait for you to play."
Starfield's early access went live earlier today. If you don't have this version or are still just curious to learn more, you can check out our review round up. Digital Foundry has also given the game the thumbs up on the performance front. Our own Pure Xbox Starfield review will be released as soon as possible, too.