Update: A new teaser trailer for "Starfield" suggests it will be a cross between "Skyrim" and "The Expanse"

Bethesda has been forced to eliminate ambiguity as overly optimistic gamers have once again raised expectations that "Starfield" will be released on PS5 Rather, it is an Xbox and PC exclusive title

Since September 2020, when Microsoft acquired Bethesda for $75 billion (two months before the PS5 was released), the possibilities for future games on Sony consoles have looked slim to none, except for one that was too far along in the process to be cancelled: November 11, 2022 The upcoming release of "Starfield" definitely does not fall into that category, so it should surprise no one that it will not be released on PS5

Nevertheless, Bethesda's Pete Hines wisely refused to deal in absolutes He is quoted as saying, "I don't know if I can go so far as to say that we will never play anything on PlayStation again, but again, I don't know the answer to that question right now"

The company was forced to pour cold water on the idea as publicity began to rise again that Microsoft was just bluffing or that this was just a timed monopoly

"Starfield will be available exclusively on the Xbox Series X|S and PC on November 11, 2022," replied Aaron Greenberg, general manager of Xbox game marketing, to such optimistic tweets 'Game Pass members will be able to play it on Xbox and PC from day one We have said this before, and it is and will remain true"

After someone pointed out that again this is ambiguous, given that "exclusive release" does not mean the same as "never released elsewhere," Greenberg further clarified: "We have tried to be as clear as possible

Again, no one should be surprised by this development After spending $75 billion on a game development company, there is no reason why they should not be able to leverage their advantage over their competitors And since the acquisition was announced a few months before the PS5 was released, Sony gamers can't say they weren't warned The choice was always simple: switch to Xbox, buy both consoles, build a gaming PC, or go without Bethesda games

But while no one would say console exclusivity is a good thing, Microsoft has at least made exclusive titles more accessible than ever As we've written before, the Xbox Series S is the ideal secondary machine for PS5 owners to get the exclusives they missed out on, and with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, they don't have to worry about paying extra for games buy a $299 Xbox Series S and take advantage of the Game Pass trial, you can play Starfield without paying an additional $60 for the game itself This is a competitive service

And while Microsoft was careful not to mention streaming as an option for Starfield at launch, it is clear that enabling people to play Xbox games without dedicated hardware is the company's ultimate goal Xbox Cloud Gaming has matured immensely in its short lifespan, and if it continues to do so, it may become an attractive option for gamers who do not want to purchase new hardware when Fallout 5 or The Elder Scrolls 6 is released