Starfield dev says empty planets are “not boring”, just “empty by design”

As with any major entry like Starfield, there has been a lot of discussion since the game’s launch about its world, quests, and exploration aspects, and whether it holds up as the behemoth it was promised to be. One Bethesda dev has responded to a negative review of the game to explain why it’s “not boring” that some planets are “meant to be empty by design.”A lot of discussion around Starfield’s exploration aspects has focused on the varying experiences you can have while exploring its many, many planets. One Steam review (thanks, Destructoid) has noted a number of criticisms about the game, even as it pained the reviewer — an acknowledged “lifelong Bethesda fanboy” — to write it. The review described an “extremely empty” galaxy full of “procedurally-generated empty spaces,” as well as noting criticisms about the game’s combat, ship building, and quests.One Bethesda developer replied to the review, responding first to the points made about Starfield’s planets. “We are sorry to hear Starfield didn’t live up to your expectations,” the dev response reads. “Some of Starfield’s planets are meant to be empty by design — but that’s not boring. ‘When the astronauts went to the moon, there was nothing there. They certainly weren’t bored.’ The intention of Starfield’s exploration is to evoke a feeling of smallness in players and make you feel overwhelmed. You can continue to explore and find worlds that do have resources you need or hidden outposts to look through.”The dev response also points out that quests “were made to be completed in several ways,” and that if the reviewer is “looking to feel ‘OP’, we recommend looking at completing the quests that grant you special powers to go along with your heavy weaponry. If you don’t feel unstoppable then, we are not sure you will feel like that in any game!”Discussion around how empty or otherwise Starfield’s planets might be began way before the game was even out, and it’s clear that whether players love or hate the big RPG, we’ll be talking about it for a long while yet. Starfield has been huge for both Bethesda and Microsoft — just recently, Xbox smashed its Game Pass subscription record thanks to Starfield, and indeed, it seems Starfield is the Xbox success story that Microsoft needed.



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