Starfield’s development was streamlined thanks to ignoring PS5

Pete Hines, VP for marketing at Bethesda, spoke about Xbox exclusivity and what it's like to develop for fewer platforms. 

Starfield is set to release later this year, September 6, after what feels like an extra long development cycle, but it turns out that fans could've had to wait even longer if the circumstances were different. 

During the current trial between Microsoft/ Activision and the Federal Trade Commission, Hines was asked about developing Xbox exclusives like Redfall and Starfield. “We would not be putting [Starfield] out in nine weeks if we were supporting an entire additional platform, in my opinion,” Hines said. 

Ultimately, Hines concluded that the Starfield team were able to hold more rounds of quality assurance and testing when developing for fewer platforms. In short, it's less of a risk.