Bethesda Head of Publishing Pete Hines has shared that Starfield “does not even really get going” until players complete the main story mission.
Hines recently made an appearance on Bethesda Mainstream at Gamescom 2023 and explained that he had already played the game for roughly 80 hours of its faction-based questlines and other side activities. He was then prompted by Bethesda Head Todd Howard to get started on the main story if he wanted to kick things off.
“We intentionally don’t talk about the main quest a lot because truthfully it is super spoilery,” said Hines. “But I’m here to tell you that this game doesn’t even really get going until you finish the main quest.”
Hines also noted that the main quest would take him around 50 hours to complete. This meant that Starfield would not “really get going” until he had sunk 130 hours into the game.
“That story, it’s my favorite Bethesda Game Studios story,” said Hines. “It’s my favorite Bethesda Games Studios’ ending to a story, and I hope people enjoy it as much as I have.”
Hines did not clarify what kind of content would become available after completing the main quest of Starfield, but he could be referring to the game’s New Game Plus that Bethesda officially confirmed. Howard said that this feature will have a unique and exciting twist, which gives players incentive to continue and repeat playing the game again.
Starfield launches on September 1, 2023 on PC and Xbox Series X/S.