Developer Bethesda is delaying the launch of its two mega games – its sci-fi RPG Starfield and the vampire shooter Redfall – to next year.
Starfield was originally slated for a November 2022 release on PC and Xbox consoles while Redfall, developed in conjunction with Arkane Austin, was supposed to be released this summer.
In a short statement, Bethesda said both games have been delayed to the “first half of 2023” and said the teams for Redfall and Starfield have “incredible ambitions for their games and we want to ensure that you receive the best, most polished versions of them.”
Bethesda also promised the first deep dive into the gameplay of both games “soon” – likely on 12 June when Xbox and Bethesda will hold their Game Showcase in lieu of an actual E3 event this year.
The delay is a blow for Xbox – it means the console will have no new exclusive games this year.
But in a tweet, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said while these decisions were hard on teams, “I fully support giving teams time to release these greats when they are ready”.
Both Bethesda titles were also supposed to be their first exclusive games for the platform and the two games come with quite a pedigree attached to them: Starfield is developed by Bethesda Game Studios – the team behind the Elder Scrolls series and Fallout – while Redfall is being led by Dishonored’s creative director Harvey Smith.
Starfield would also be Bethesda’s first original RPG in 25 years, has been in development for the last six and was previously called “the most important game of 2022”.
Starfield and Redfall aren’t the only major games to be pushed back this year – Nintendo was expected to launch the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild in end 2022 but has since pushed it back to early 2023.
*Featured image from Bethesda
