Starfield’s Xbox exclusivity ‘yielded a better product’, Todd Howard says

Bethesda’s Todd Howard has discussed the benefits of Starfield being an Xbox console exclusive.

In an interview with the BBC, the game’s director said the ability to focus on fewer platforms always resulted in better products.

“When you’re making something exclusive then the more you can focus,” he explained. “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.”

While Starfield isn’t available on PS5 as Bethesda would once have planned prior to its acquisition by Microsoft, the game is also available on PC and other platforms via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

“You do want people to be able to access it of course,” Howard said. “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,” he added. “When you think of Zelda you think of the Switch and I think there are times when that can be a real benefit.”

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Howard’s comments echo those of Bethesda publishing boss Pete Hines, who recently claimed that Starfield likely wouldn’t have been ready for release this year if the game was also coming to PS5.

“Focusing on fewer platforms has been a big benefit to that team,” Hines said in June. Being on more platforms would mean “it’s going to take longer, it’s going to cost more. It’s just a far greater risk in my mind.”

VGC’s Starfield review calls it “the ultimate Bethesda game”, saying it “takes what people loved about Fallout and Skyrim and casts it across an enormous galaxy”.