Bethesda Softworks has delayed Starfield, its highly anticipated sci-fi RPG, and Redfall, Arkane Studios’ vampire-themed shooter, to the first half of 2023, the company said Thursday morning. Both games had been expected to launch this year.
In a statement on Twitter, the Microsoft-owned publisher said, “The teams at Arkane Austin (Redfall) and Bethesda Game Studios (Starfield) have incredible ambitions for their games, and we want to ensure that you receive the best, most polished versions of them.”
Bethesda promised to share “the first deep dive” on both games soon, indicating both will still make an appearance at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12.
Starfield is an epic science-fiction RPG from the makers of the Elder Scrolls series, the first major release from the core Bethesda Game Studios team since 2015’s Fallout 4, and the first new property from the studio in 25 years. Redfall is an open-world, co-op shooter in the Left 4 Dead style, and its development at Arkane’s Austin branch is being led by Dishonored creative director Harvey Smith.
Both games have a great pedigree, then, and both are very significant to Bethesda’s new owner, Microsoft, too, as they are due to be the first Bethesda titles to be console-exclusive to Xbox. 2021’s Deathloop and this year’s Ghostwire: Tokyo both launched on PlayStation first, despite being released after the Microsoft acquisition, due to preexisting agreements. Starfield and Redfall will also launch on PC and, from day one, on Xbox Game Pass.