Starfield: an astronomical record, the game is unstoppable

We know that Starfield is a hit, but do we really know to what extent? To dot the “i”s, Bethesda has just made an official statement that blows everyone away.

Starfield is a great success, that’s undeniable. But could we expect such a phenomenon despite the qualities of the RPG? Because knowing that the game is top 1 in Steam sales is one thing, but knowing the total number of players is another. Thus, Bethesda unveils all of this with great fanfare on its official X account (formerly Twitter). It’s dizzying.

Starfield shows the muscles

So it’s official, Starfield has just surpassed 10 million players, making it the best launch in the history of Bethesda, well beyond Skyrim. To make a comparison, know that at the time, in the first 48 hours following its release, the game had already sold more than 3.5 million copies, testifying to the massive anticipation surrounding it . In one week, this number jumped to over 7 million units, generating revenues exceeding $450 million. Then, Bethesda announced in 2014 that Skyrim had crossed the mark of 20 million copies sold.

The crazy thing is that Starfield just did better than this result in less than a month. This can also be explained by the larger number of players and the phenomenon of word of mouth, via social networks, which has a significant impact on sales. Let’s also take into consideration that the high number of players (even if it is not specified) can find an explanation in the presence of the RPG in Xbox Game Pass.

In recent years, big figures like this have hardly come as a surprise. At the start of 2022, we learned, for example, that Elden Ring had sold 12 million copies in just 3 weeks, far surpassing Dark Souls 3. Finally, Hogwarts Legacy, the juggernaut of the year 2023, has accumulated 12 million sales in… 2 weeks. For the moment, it remains one of the undisputed masters of third-party games. It must be said that the Harry Potter franchise is quite unstoppable and has phenomenal firepower. Even Star Wars with Jedi Survivor didn’t achieve this number. In any case, Starfield has just achieved a masterstroke, even if it remains to be tempered. For what ? Because the title is automatically included in the XGP. We can therefore legitimately think that Bethesda is inflating the figures thanks to this measure. This is no less impressive.

A bright future?

The future looks pretty bright. Indeed, in the latest highly anticipated Starfield update, Bethesda has made a series of improvements and additions that optimize the visual experience and interaction in the game. Now, players can fine-tune their experience by adjusting brightness and contrast controls, allowing deeper immersion in space (and elsewhere). Graphics enthusiasts will also be delighted to discover the new HDR calibration menu, which promises to enrich visual renderings thanks to precise adjustments. In addition, sliders for the field of vision have been integrated, giving players the possibility of widening or narrowing their visual perspective as they wish.

PC players also benefit from significant improvements; Nvidia DLSS support promises to optimize graphics performance, while support for 32:9 Ultrawide displays guarantees a more immersive and impressive gaming experience. Finally, to make interaction with the game environment more natural and intuitive, an “eat” button has been added to facilitate the consumption of food in the game, thus adding a touch of realism and convenience. These updates demonstrate Bethesda’s continued commitment to refining and improving the Starfield experience, meeting the demands and needs of its growing community.