Bethesda’s first new original IP in decades, Starfield, was supposed to launch this November. Today, both Starfield and vampire open-world co-op shooter Redfall have both been delayed into the first half of 2023. The delay happens one month before Microsoft’s upcoming Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, which is set for June 12th.
“We’ve made the decision to delay the launches of Redfall and Starfield to the first half of 2023”, begins the announcement. “The teams at Arkane Austin (Redfall) and Bethesda Game Studios (Starfield) have incredible ambitions for their games, and we want to ensure that you receive the best, most polished versions of them.”
An update on Redfall and Starfield. pic.twitter.com/pqDtx26Uu6
— Bethesda (@bethesda) May 12, 2022
For a title that had a summer release date until today, there hadn’t been much released by Arkane Austin, the studio behind Prey and Deathloop, about Redfall (which was announced at last year’s Microsoft showcase) since around the time of its announcement. Looking at the lack of information out so far it’s not entirely surprising to see a delay. The timing this close to the upcoming showcase might be the only surprising part.
With several other vampire-themed titles recently out or coming soon, like battle royale Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodhunt and open-world survival game V Rising, Redfall might be well served by the move into next year.
While both games have been delayed, the announcement put out by Bethesda does promise that we’ll still be seeing significant updates about both games. “We can’t want to share our first deep dive into the gameplay for both Redfall and Starfield soon,” the statement reads, and we can still expect the upcoming showcase to feature both.
It’s a small consolation for those who were looking forward to Redfall’s “summer 2022” date and Starfield to follow in the fall. With both titles set to be exclusive to Xbox Series X and PC, Starfield’s move leaves a gap in the holiday season.
