Starfield could be targeting a Q1 2022 release window, according to a new report

What you need to know

• Starfield is an upcoming sci-fi single-player RPG from Bethesda Game Studios, who are part of Microsoft.
• Game journalist Jeff Grubb confirmed some prior speculation that Starfield might hit a Q1 2022 launch window.
• Grubb also recently reported that Starfield will be exclusive to Microsoft's Xbox and Windows PC platforms.

This past weekend, we offered a report from industry heavyweight Jeff Grubb, "confirming" the fact that Starfield is indeed exclusive to Microsoft's Xbox and Windows PC platforms. There was also a range of new leaked screenshots, purported to be from 2018, alongside whispers that Starfield could launch sooner than expect. Kinda Funny Games' Blessing Adeoye Jr. and VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb have put their names to another major Starfield report, detailing the game's launch window.

It seems that Starfield could be targeting a Q1 2022 release date, echoing similar rumors from across the net that the upcoming sci-fi RPG is closer than we might've otherwise expected.

The details come from an exchange between Grubb and Adeoye Jr, with Grubb confirming in a tweet prior speculation on Kinda Funny Games Cast that the game was targeting a Q1 2022 launch window.

There were some previous rumors earlier in the year that the game was targeting a Holiday 2021 launch window. It's not outside the realm of possibility that the date got bumped slightly given the on-going pandemic.

Very little is known about Starfield, besides what we can glean from a few unverified screenshots. The game seems as though it could have custom spaceship construction, set in a vast, alien sci-fi open world. We know that it's a single-player RPG, built on an upgraded version of Bethesda's Creation Engine, famously used in the Fallout and Elder Scrolls franchises. We expect the game to hit Xbox Game Pass at launch too, bolstering the value of Microsoft's nascent all-you-can-eat gaming service, joining xCloud cloud streaming alongside it.

Despite the fact game director Todd Howard described the game as "next-generation" in the past, there's a decent chance it could also be a cross-gen title. There's an on-going chip shortage, making access to new-gen Xbox Series X and Series S consoles difficult. Additionally, xCloud is still based on Xbox One architecture, meaning that it would need an Xbox One version to join the cloud streaming service component of Xbox Game Pass.

Given the blockbuster quality of Bethesda's previous games, it's fair to assume Starfield could wind up as one of the best Xbox games to date, but we won't know for sure until we get our hands on the mythical title. If Starfield is launching in Q1 2022, there's a good chance it will also break cover during the E3 2021 digital showcases in June.