In recent years, as open-world games have gained popularity in the gaming world, giant companies like Bethesda have focused on games that promise huge maps and countless content. However, Bethesda’s latest game Starfield, with the criticism it faced, showed that the “1000 planets” approach may not yield the expected results.

Bethesda learned from Starfield criticism

In a recent interview with BAFTA, Bethesda Game Studios director Todd Howard addressed one of the most criticized aspects of Starfield, the “1000+ planets” claim. Howard admitted that creating so many planets wasted development time and resources that could have been put to better use.

Howard explained that not everyone on the development team was convinced that creating 1000 planets made sense. After the game’s release, many players also realized that many of the explorable worlds lacked quests.

This led to criticism and criticism that Starfield was sacrificing quality. Howard said that in retrospect, the idea of 1000 planets was a mistake.

The September 30th Shattered Space expansion takes a different approach by focusing on a single planet (Vaʼruunʼkai). This will allow the developer to create a true narrative with enhanced locations and missions, rather than creating a multitude of lifeless planets.

Whether Shattered Space will address Starfield’s criticisms and provide a more satisfying experience remains to be seen. However, it is clear that Bethesda has learned from the criticism and will make new decisions for future projects.