Is Starfield worth it in 2026?

What it is

Starfield is Bethesda's sprawling space RPG, offering hundreds of planets, deep ship-building and outpost systems, and the freedom to role-play as everything from a bounty hunter to a smuggler. At its best it delivers the classic Bethesda pull of stumbling into a strange questline and losing an evening to it. The major cities are dense and hand-crafted, the shipbuilder is a genuine highlight, and post-launch work, including the added city maps, the Shattered Space expansion and steady patches, has filled out the experience since its 2023 release.

The catch

The scale comes at a cost. Much of the exploration is loading-screen-gated fast travel rather than seamless flight, and many procedurally generated planets are empty and repetitive once the novelty fades. It lacks the hand-crafted density that made Fallout 4 and Skyrim feel alive, and the writing and factions, while solid, rarely reach the studio's best. If you were hoping to pilot freely between planets and explore uninterrupted, expect menus and loading screens instead.

The verdict

It depends. If you enjoy Bethesda systems, ship-building and slow-burn side quests, there is a huge, rewarding game here, and mods keep improving it. If you want tight, seamless space exploration in the vein of a dedicated space sim, it may well disappoint. It is no longer one to buy at full price; with the patches now in place it is worth it near its all-time low, so check the current price on its page first. It is also on subscription, so see our best PC Game Pass games and best RPGs on sale, or browse current deals.