Answering the question in the headline, yes, Starfield, the fresh intellectual property from Bethesda Game Studios, managed to rally more than a million concurrent players across all platforms within 24 hours of its launch. This thrilling news was shared by Xbox chief, Phil Spencer, via a tweet.
Starfield’s Launch and Immediate Success
First announced during the E3 event in 2018, Starfield was released with much anticipation and excitement on September 6, five years later. This sci-fi action RPG marks Bethesda’s first new IP in a quarter-century, following the phenomenal success of their previous game series such as The Elder Scrolls (Skyrim) and Fallout. In 2021, Bethesda and its parent company, ZeniMax, were acquired by Microsoft, the owner of Xbox.
Remarkably, Starfield secured its place as the fifth “Most Played” game on Microsoft’s online store, surpassing popular games like Apex Legends, Grand Theft Auto 5, and Minecraft, and falling behind only Fortnite, Call of Duty, Rainbow Six Siege, and Roblox.
Starfield’s Performance on Different Platforms
According to data from Steamdb, Starfield reached a peak of over 269,000 concurrent players on PC on launch day. At the time of writing, it maintained a robust player base of approximately 200,000. In terms of reviews, Starfield has already amassed over 23,300 on the Steam store, with a “Very Positive” score indicating that 83% of reviewers gave the game a thumbs-up. On the Xbox store, the game has received just under 4 stars out of a possible 5, based on around 5,200 reviews.
Players praised the game’s immersive environments, captivating non-player characters, and engaging quests, with many asserting that Starfield is a significant upgrade from previous Bethesda titles. However, some players reported performance issues, indicating that higher-end graphics cards and an SSD, rather than a hard drive, are needed for a smooth gameplay experience.
Starfield’s Critical Reception and Availability
While player reviews are important, professional critics also praised the game, with the Xbox version boasting an average review score of 86 according to aggregator Metacritic. However, there were some mixed reviews. For instance, Polygon stated that “Starfield often feels sterile, and it buries its best moments beneath so much tedium.”
Presently, Starfield is included in Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription service and can be played on Windows PC and Xbox Series X and S. Although the game is not available for Sony PlayStation consoles, players can use their PlayStation controllers to play the game on PC.
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