Getting around in the world of Starfield has been a hot topic since the game first arrived in early access, and in a new interview with Bloomberg, Bethesda's Todd Howard has touched on the topic of Space travel in Starfield.
Responding to a fan question asking why there aren't any land vehicles in the game, Todd said it was something the team considered but ultimately decided against. Here's their reasoning behind that decision:
"Once you do vehicles it does change the gameplay, so by focusing once you land in your ship that you're on foot, it lets us really — for the players — make it an experience where we know how fast they're seeing things.
In one sense you do have a vehicle, obviously you have your spaceship where you can go around in space, but then on the surface you do have a jetpack, which you can upgrade."
So, it sounds like the decision to leave land vehicles off the table came down to pacing - Bethesda wanted fans to take their time exploring the many planets in Starfield and all of the quests they contain. Fair enough!
The above interview also features Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who talks more about the publishing and distribution side of things with Starfield's launch. The clip is only about five minutes long, so it's definitely worth a quick watch if you want to hear a bit more on what Phil and Todd have to say about the game and its release.