Bethesda Clarifies Questions About Starfield's Xbox Exclusivity and Possible PS5 Release

Following Starfield's appearance during Gamescom, hopes that the game would release outside of the Xbox and PC platforms were once again reignited by people looking for wiggle room in comments made by Bethesda. Pete Hines, Bethesda's SVP of global marketing, said during the event that it wasn't as though people on platforms other than Xbox and PC would never be able to play a Bethesda game again, a sentiment that's been reiterated more than once before. That statement doesn't apply to Starfield, however, which Bethesda and Xbox have both since said is indeed an Xbox and PC exclusive.

An interpretation of Hines' comments shared on Twitter by a user who goes by The Red Dragon kicked off another round of Starfield exclusivity conversations on the platform this week and prompted responses from Hines and Aaron Greenberg, the general manager of games marketing at Xbox. When asked if he was indeed suggesting with his comments that Starfield might come to the PlayStation 5 in the future, Hines said that wasn't the case and insinuated that those trying to interpret his comments that way were grasping at straws.

No, that isn't what I was suggesting. pic.twitter.com/fkoXql9FkI

— Pete Hines (@DCDeacon) August 30, 2021

Greenberg had a more standardized response prepared for the situation. He reiterated what Bethesda and Xbox have both said in the past ever since Xbox acquired Bethesda in the first place by saying that Starfield will launch on Xbox consoles and PC on day one and will be exclusive to those platforms. He reminded people that this has been said before and said that it won't change in the future either.

Starfield will be an launching exclusively on Xbox Series X|S and PC on November 11, 2022. Game Pass members can play it day one as well on Xbox & PC. I know we have said this all before and none of that has or will change. pic.twitter.com/CcNBcOKBeg

— Aaron “Day One On Game Pass” Greenberg 🙅🏼‍♂️💚U (@aarongreenberg) August 30, 2021

Hines apologized to PlayStation 5 owners in the past and acknowledged the frustration of not being able to play a game like Starfield on a PlayStation if that's your preferred console. He also said at the time that there's "not a whole lot [he] can do about it" which echoed Greenberg's more recent sentiments that these release plans aren't changing in the future.

PlayStation owners are still getting Deathloop, however, a game which might not be Starfield but one that shows that some Bethesda games can still come to the PlayStation platform. How often that'll happen in the future remains to be seen, but the question's at least been settled as far as Starfield is concerned.