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Starfield exceeds 6 million players, becomes Bethesda's biggest game launch

Bethesda's latest RPG Starfield has surpassed 6 million players, making it the biggest Bethesda game launch of all time.

shadowT5d ago

Fallout 4 shipped 12 million copies on launch day, according to Bethesda.

Jin_Sakai5d ago

Everyone fell for the hype. That and Xbox fans are thirsty.

343_Guilty_Spark5d ago

It’s going to be okay.

Now back to Starfield 😊

GhostScholar5d ago

Like you wouldn’t be playing it if it was on ps5. I wish it was on everything too, but don’t be silly and act like it’s not a good game.

PhillyDonJawn5d ago

Shhhh, everythings going to be okay baby *caresses hair* I wish I could play too.

Sonic18814d ago (Edited 4d ago )

@GhostScholar

I agree that it's a good game but it's not great. It's not better than Elders Scrolls or Fallout. Starfield was overhyped by Xbox fans saying it would be the GOTY

S2Killinit4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Question is how many are on gamepass? How many will stop playing it after a try.

Show us the breakdown.

MatrixxGT4d ago

Jesus dude, do you go outside? It’s a decent game. Get over it.

shinoff21834d ago

Ghostscholar, at some point you just have to admit maybe stsrfield just isn't for everyone. Not me I bought my xbox for it but if this was a new elder scrolls game instead I wouldn't be interested. My favorite game from them is fallout and prey, probably stsrfield to once I get more time in. Just realize not everyone is interested in a space rpg just like it takes alot for me to be interested in a medieval type of rpg

+ Show (5) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
-Foxtrot5d ago

I looked this up and I guess you are right, they did

https://www.gamespot.com/ar...

So why are they saying here that THIS is the biggest launch? If 12 million people bought the game then surely it means 12 million were playing at launch.

Snookies125d ago

Shipping 12 million is not the same as selling 12 million. Retailers have to order extra copies beyond any that were pre-ordered to have them in stock as well. Granted, I haven't really looked into the sales of Starfield or Fallout 4. Just pointing out that shipping and selling copies are quite different.

Lightning775d ago

It's shipped vs sold. skyrim shipped 7 million copies but sold 3.5 million. Fallout 4 actually sold13.5 million copies as of 2021. Maybe Fallout did 4 or 5 million sales wise.

Since Xbox entry to gaming is through gamepass (and conventional means) players counts can be much higher as we've seen here.

If you want actual SF sales yeah MS won't give that out. IMO Bethesda needs to give that out if MS won't release sales figures since they're being ran semi independently and all.

VenomUK5d ago

What counts as a player to Microsoft? My understanding that it’s a person who has launched the game once.

For Starfield, and all other games, Microsoft can also measure how many people played for different time increments eg 1-2 hours, 2-3 hours etc. it would be insightful to know how many players as a percentage have played for five or more hours then you can see how many people are playing padded the intro.

Sonic18814d ago (Edited 4d ago )

How many people of the 12 million played it on gamepass for a $10 dollar monthly subscription? That's what I wanna know

senorfartcushion4d ago

This is very company in America. Happens every major launch for Xbox and PlayStation

shinoff21834d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Keyword bought. We will probably never know how many we're bought.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 4d ago
GotGame8184d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Shipped, isn't SOLD. It also isn't current players.

Kakashi Hatake3d ago

Players is an awful indicator. I'd take shipped as a better indicator than people that downloaded and pressed start. By that logic, Sony can add downloads to their sales numbers of games like Ratchet and Clank. Keep drinking the kool aid Xbots.

Lightning775d ago

Now that's more like it. Yes I made a slip up. 1 million concurrent players is very, very good. I thought it was 1 million players.

6 million players exceeds Forza Horizon 5 by a million. I can't find the stat for Halo at launch 343 didn't post.

Regardless the most played Bethesda game at launch is also pretty incredible.

Crows905d ago

Likely also the least sold. When you practically give out a free game ...yeah..more people will grab it.

Gamepass for PC is quite cheap through Ms edge rewards...

Lightning775d ago

Yeah that's the plan for MS. Tango game works aren't complaining. They expanded there studio and Pere Hines said that studio will take more risks and future support that studio more all because of one game All through GP. I dunno how the the pay goes but that's not for us to worry about.

Off topic but Todd also teased Indiana Jones to be shown off next year. Possibly next E3 hopefully. More Bethesda goodness.

Sonic18814d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Gamepass for PC is quite cheap through Ms edge rewards...

Hey, that's supposed to be a secret. We don't want the whole world to know that. Microsoft has been saving me money bro.

FPS_D3TH4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

Literally just saying what everybody even microsoft knows and acknowledges. They don’t expect subscribers to buy a copy of every game on gamepass they enjoy lmao

PunksOnN4G5d ago

Halo Launch Numbers was 20mil in the 1st week idk about concurrent. buit Halo was much bigger then starfield in my eyes

Lightning775d ago

No it wasn't. That was reported in January 25 2022 not first week. There are no first week numbers for Halo Infinite. Anymore lies I can clear up? I can do this all day, and I often do.

DeusFever4d ago

Don’t know about Halo Infinite, but the at the apex of Halo, Halo 3 had 1M concurrent players at launch and 13M lifetime sales on Xbox 360. On the high end estimate, Halo 3 May have sold 8M in the first week. That was on Xbox 360 only.

Reaper22_5d ago

I'm loving this game. Definitely one of the best ever. Huge win for Microsoft. Congrats to Phil for making this happen for xbox gamers. Game of the year for sure.

Soulsborne5d ago

Youre giving credit the the wrong person here, also its on PC where it will thrive longer....

Reaper22_5d ago

Youre right. I also thank Sony and Jim Ryan for failing to keep the game on playstation and helping the PC version that will thrive longer and make Microsoft even more money. From the bottom of my heart I thank you.☺️

Lightning775d ago

Phil's team was responsible for the games overall polish of the game Advance Technology Group or ATG came in early last year to tighten everything up. I was pissed like everyone else when the delayed was called but definitely well worth it. Anyway MS granted them a delay out of last year for said polish. There's some hitches here and there not 100% perfect but it's a absolute farcry from past Bethesda games that's for sure. It's doesn't have that classic Bethesda jank.

No MS wasn't there at the start of development obviously but they certainly helped Bethesda reach the Finish line.

senorfartcushion4d ago

Phil Spencer is quite careless with game launches. Starfield only shipped in a relatively polished state because the last few MS exclusives shipped in terrible conditions. Forza is the only series that shipped in a good state prior to this game

BaughJaughs4d ago

Gears has always been high quality on launch too.

Armaggedon4d ago

Get ready to be crucified for liking it.lol

vTuro244d ago

What did Phil do other than take it away from Playstation?

JackBNimble4d ago (Edited 4d ago )

This exactly why Sony "Fanboys" are so critical of a game they will never play.
It has nothing to do with its metacritic or how good the game actually is, and everything to do with the fact they're left out .

Don't you psFanboys have anything better to do like maybe go play those glorious ps5 exclusives? ...lol

shinoff21834d ago

Jackbnimble, you guys get 1 actually good game in the last decade and suddenly jump on the high horse. Lol. Yall funny. Ps I'm playing through starfield so don't trip

vTuro243d ago

JackBNimble who are you calling a "Sony Fanboy"? Overly sensitive much? I play on pc you clown. It makes no difference to make if Starfield makes it to PS or not and I'm not even talking about the quality of the game. I asked a simple question. What did Phil actually do to deserve praise? The game was going to come to Xbox regardless.

andy854d ago

For you maybe, it may not even make the shortlist, and FFXVI might not either.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 3d ago
PunksOnN4G5d ago

6mil?? Thats it out of 30mil gamepass subs,Mobile,console stream,Samsung tvs, Tablets LOL. But xbox kids were sayign GOW:R was a fail with 5.1mil sold in 3days at 70$ a POP LOL

Reaper22_5d ago

No need to be salty over it. Starfield deserves all the praise it's getting. It's a really good game and there's nothing else like it on consoles or PC. It's a huge win for xbox whether people want to admit it or not. It's clear now why Sony was so against this being exclusive. This game alone is gonna make xbox a lot of money.

10M3daysorFail5d ago (Edited 5d ago )

Sorry, but the Outer Worlds from Obsidian did Fallout in space first. Both games have loading between planets and both are space exploration rpg with deep story from a known studio. Baldur's Gates 3 do RPG better and is available right now on console and PC. No Man sky do lift-off from planet better ( Bethesda own ID Software since 2009, so no excuse ). Starfield is also one of many games using the Morrowind engine from 2002. Plenty of choices. Even Skyrim could be modded to have Starfield mods theorically.

PunksOnN4G5d ago

More money yet Sony this year during the marketing Quarter double what xbox did stop bro you xbox kids be lyign and coping :) Nice try though

Soileh5d ago

I find it amazing that so much of Starfield defense has reduced down to "there is nothing else like it." NMS exists and does exploration better than Starfield. I can already predict your next response which would be "but NMS isn't as good an RPG as Starfield!" Well sure, but Starfield isn't as good an RPG as BG3, so it's not an argument. Starfield's scope is is most defining feature - in a bad way. This is what most people will remember it by, and judging by the user scores on metacritic, the slowly decreasing user reviews on Steam, the poor reviews on Xbox store (2.8/5 from people who PAID for the game to have the privilege of leaving a review) it's going to be remembered as a weak game in the end. Certainly inferior to previous BGS games.

Soileh5d ago

Yeah the numbers are pretty bad once you dig down into all the metrics. BG3 had one million CCUs almost on Steam alone, and by Phil's Spencer's admission of 1m CCUs (meaning 1:4 Steam to Xbox platform) 75% of the players of the game are on Xbox, where the game is free on Game Pass. So 6m players is not good, because they are not sales. BG3 cost full price on release, but managed 1m CCUs, and Starfield was free to play for 30m people accounting 75% of the CCUs, and could only manage the same. Fallout 4 did over 5m sales (to consumers) in the first week, and this has been out a week and only managed 6m PLAYERS, not sales. I'm sure it's acceptable for their metrics, and Xbox doesn't care about taking a loss on the $400m dev costs to get it on Game Pass, but still it's a large decrease from their previous releases, and considering this game was hyped to be "game of the generation" by so many people, but could only manage as many PLAYERS, not sales, as BG3 I think it's safe to say Starfield massively underperformed.

Lightning775d ago

I'm sorry who said these things? Where's your proof?

Besides we're you expecting 20 million in one day? Yeah right. That's like saying Gow should of done 20 million in a few days after launch. Not freakin happening try harder.

PunksOnN4G5d ago

God of war R. Sold 5.1mil in 3days at 70$ a pop Bud dont disrespect GOD OF WAR R with starfield trash homie

PhillyDonJawn5d ago

1 game had an install base of 100million.
And you think 1/4th reach is nothing? That's amazing. GOW would've had to sold 25-30 million to reach that ratio

Lightning774d ago

You said ppl said GoW failed with 5.1 million sales at 70$ I don't remember seeing anyone making fun. You're just making stuff up because of course you are.

I'm not comparing nothin what you said didn't make any damn sense at all.

thesoftware7304d ago

Who said GOW:R was a failure? Could you point me to where that was said?

You might be making things up, That was not a general consensus on here.

Also, It's pretty standard for an entire user base not to like, play, download, or buy a game. A good example would be the Stellar Super Mario Odyssey, Switch has like 125 million units sold, and Mario, arguably the biggest franchise ever only sold 27 million. Same for Pokemon, 20+ for a system with 125 mill userbase.

Your comment is silly.

DeusFever4d ago

Not surprising. Even the best games with the broadest appeal like Spider-Man will sell to less than a quarter of the install base. Even when you give a game away, like publishers did with Lego games and Horizon Zero Dawn during the pandemic, you won’t see the needle move much. That’s why Bethesda was a $7.5B purchase and not a $70B purchase.

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Profchaos5d ago

So 50% of the fallout 4 day 1 player base is celebration worthy?

5d ago
porkChop5d ago

Bethesda "shipped" 12 million copies of Fallout 4 for launch day. Shipped does not equal bought.

Gameseeker_Frampt5d ago

"Shipped does not equal bought"

Neither does Starfield's 6 million players since a majority of them are playing through Gamepass.

Charlieboy3334d ago

Do retailers not pay for the copies that are shipped to them ?

porkChop4d ago

@Frampt
No one said it did.

@Charlie
A bit irrelevant considering Profchaos specifically mentioned "day 1 player base". Typically game sales are only ever reported as sold through.

DeusFever4d ago

In today’s subscription gaming world, played does not equal bought.

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