Starfield's next update promises "over 100 fixes and improvements" and a PC beta arrives next week
UPDATE: Beta out now after brief delay.
UPDATE 18/1/24: Following a last-minute delay yesterday as Bethesda attempted to resolve an unspecified "issue", Starfield's latest update has been released for beta testing on Steam.
As previously detailed, this new update promises "over a hundred fixes and adjustments", with its focus primarily being on quality-of-life improvements and quest fixes. A full breakdown of everything addressed in the update - officially known as 1.9.47.0 - can be found in Bethesda's release notes, with notable changes including improved textures, lighting, and shadows, as well as additional widescreen support and stability improvements.
"As we noted last year," the studio adds, "we'll continue to have a steady stream of updates about every six weeks, so if you dont see your issue addressed below, don't lose faith!"
Assuming no significant issues are flagged during beta testing, Starfield's latest update should release to all players on PC and Xbox Series X/S in around two weeks.
UPDATE 17/1/24: Bethesda has announced a brief delay for the start of Starfield's latest update beta on Steam. The studio originally planned to launch the beta today, 17th January, but has postponed its launch after discovering an unspecified "issue" it wants to address first.
Those looking forward to getting their hands on the "over 100 fixes and improvements" promised in the beta shouldn't have long to wait, however. Bethesda says it's now "aiming to release it later this week", adding it'll "confirm timing when we know for sure."
The studio previously revealed it expects to launch the update to all players around two weeks after it hits Steam beta if all goes well.
ORIGINAL STORY 12/1/24: With Bethesda looking to ramp up the frequency of its Starfield updates in 2024 - it recently committed to a "roughly every six weeks" schedule starting in February - the studio is kicking off the new year by putting its latest patch into Steam beta next Wednesday, 17th January, with the promise of "over 100 fixes and improvements".
Bethesda says it'll share the full update notes when the Steam beta goes live on Wednesday but, ahead of launch, it's teased a number of included improvements in a series of posts on social media. Next week's update will, for instance, introduce improved textures, lighting, and shadows - the accompanying screenshots point to far more natural illumination on character's faces, for instance - as well as additional widescreen support and stability improvements.
Bethesda is also promising a "multitude of fixes" to quests, remedying the likes of docking and data transfer problems in Eye of the Storm, as well as preventing exploration blockers caused by missing temples in Into the Unknown.
Players can also expect improvements to sun disk geometry and planet ring shadows, fixes for bulldozed objects reappearing when returning to an outpost, remedies for instances when ship hatches are marked as inaccessible, plus another fix for the lingering (and entirely hilarious) issue of asteroids following ships.
Bethesda says it's planning to release the update to all players around two weeks after it hits Steam beta, meaning this will likely be the patch that officially kicks off its previously announced six-week launch schedule. And as to what the rest of 2024 will bring to Starfield, Bethesda has already teased "new ways of traveling" and official mod support via Bethesda's Creation Club, and more.
The good news is Bethesda's previous updates to Starfield - a game that didn't entirely captivate Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell at launch - are slowly starting to bring the kind of tehcnical improvements that, as Digital Foundry recently commented, should have been in the game at release. Here's hoping for an equally fruitful year of updates in 2024.