Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s next-gen version enjoyed a puzzling period of exclusivity on Xbox Series X and S back in 2020 that was never properly explained — until now.
06.09.2023 - 11:17 / gamesradar.com / Todd Howard / Phil Spencer / Xbox Series / Howard / Series X
Starfield game director Todd Howard has spoken on the new RPG's console exclusivity for Xbox systems.
Speaking to the BBC in a new interview, the Starfield director and Bethesda veteran defended the new game's console platform exclusivity. "When you're making something exclusive then the more you can focus," Howard said of Starfield's console exclusivity for Xbox Series X/S platforms.
"You know this is the hardware or the thing people are playing on, so the ability to focus on that always yields a better product. You do want people to be able to access it of course," Howard continued. "But being with Xbox means there is an ease of access for us and I'm told we're expecting more people playing this launch than anything we've ever done before and that's despite the success of our previous games."
"I do also think people attach brands to certain games. When you think of Zelda you think of the Switch and I think there are times when that can be a real benefit," the Starfield director concluded. It's clear that Howard views Starfield specifically as an Xbox-linked game, synonymous with both of Microsoft's new-gen consoles, as well as PC.
In an internal memo upon Starfield's launch, Howard had big praise for Xbox leadership, including head of gaming Phil Spencer. "His support of every game and every player has been unwavering and fierce. Joining Xbox brought us closer to so many we had worked with for over 20 years. I cannot imagine a better place to create games, where the diversity of studios, creators, and games are allowed to flourish," Howard reportedly wrote in the internal memo.
It's a good thing Howard is full of praise for working with Xbox, since it sure looks like all future Bethesda Game Studios titles will be console exclusives for Xbox players. Spencer was non-committal on the subject of console exclusivity for The Elder Scrolls 6 though, saying earlier this year that the sequel was so far out it was impossible to know which platforms it would be on.
Check out our Starfield money glitch guide if you're looking to get your hands on some ill-earned Credits as quickly as possible.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s next-gen version enjoyed a puzzling period of exclusivity on Xbox Series X and S back in 2020 that was never properly explained — until now.
For reasons I won't get into here because it may constitute a little bit of a spoiler, the planet Earth in Starfield is a bit of a wasteland. But what if it was The Wasteland—that is, the post-nuclear hellscape of Bethesda's other big sci-fi-ish game series, Fallout? In an interview with The Washington Post, creative director Todd Howard said developers actually gave thought to the idea.
You may have heard about a little space game called Starfield, the gravitational pull from which risks swallowing all games discourse for months and possibly years to come. Perhaps that's no surprise for a game that's been in development and hyped for as long as any title that I can remember (well, ones that have shipped anyway) but it's easy to forget now the thing's in our hands that it was subject to multiple delays along the way.
Starfield game director Todd Howard has confirmed that the game's official mod tools will be released next year.
In an interview with Famitsu, Starfield lead and Bethesda frontman Todd Howard stated that the game's mod support «will be available next year» (obtained via machine translation), which likely refers to Starfield's equivalent to the Creation Kit modding tools for Skyrim and Fallout 4.
While it’s certainly true that Starfield already has more mods than most games ever receive during their entire lifetime, including the hotly anticipated Script Extender thingamajig, it doesn’t take an eagle’s eye to notice that the vast majority of them are still relatively limited in scope. That’s for good reason, too, as Starfield is currently missing a crucial feature that all Bethesda Game Studios RPGS eventually receive: Creation Kit support. Until Creation Kit 2 – built specifically for Starfield‘s Creation Engine 2 – comes out, modders won’t be able to easily add new weapons, customizations, and other assorted goodies into the game, but the good news is that it’s bound to happen relatively soon!
After finding out that Starfield completely omits any ground-based vehicles for your avatar to ride on, many players have wondered exactly why Bethesda made this design decision. Fortunately for those players, Bethesda executive producer and Starfield director Todd Howard recently addressed the matter in an interview with Bloomberg. You can find the interview posted further down this article, where you can skip to 3:00 to hear Howard’s response.
Bethesda’s officially released yesterday after about a week of early access availability. Director Todd Howard and Xbox CEO Phil Spencer recently answered a few questions about the new game in a recent interview. .
Starfield is officially out, and modders have been working hard creating helpful add-ons, from useful, quality-of-life mods such as revamping the inventory UI to unofficially adding support for DLSS. Others have added more cosmetic things like reskin in-game clothes. And then there are some people out there who keep modding Bethesda's Todd Howard into the game.
Bethesda's Todd Howard and Xbox head Phil Spencer have been on the interview circuit for the launch of Starfield, as part of which the pair granted an interview to Bloomberg Technology. While the questions have a more general business focus and veer into things like Game Pass and the Elder Scrolls 6 (no new info), the show starts with Bloomberg's Ed Ludlow rather starkly putting an audience question to Howard: «why did you not optimise this game for PC?»
Bethesda’s Todd Howard has discussed the benefits of Starfield being an Xbox console exclusive.
«When you're making something exclusive then the more you can focus.»