When Microsoft purchased Bethesda earlier this year, it made promises about console exclusivity, stating they wanted to be the "best" on, but not necessarily exclusive to, XBox. Predictably that didn't entirely hold true, as Starfield has now been confirmed to be an Xbox and Windows exclusive, much to the chagrin of PlayStation players.

Bethesda's Todd Howard played the move as a positive, stating that focusing development on fewer platforms allowed the team to make the game the "best it can be for those systems" - and in a separate interview this week with GameSpot, the company's senior VP of marketing and communication, Pete Hines, stated much the same thing, stating that it would allow a more "streamlined" development.

"You're not worrying about, 'How does it work on this box versus how does it work on that box?'" he said. "We're not making it on that box, so it just needs to run as well as possible on this one, [and] on a PC. Narrow focus always helps." He also pointed out that Deathloop, an Arkane title that is exclusive to PlayStation 5 and PC, was enjoying the same benefits. "When we decided to do a partnership with Sony on Deathloop and that game became exclusive to that platform, that development got more streamlined because we said, 'PS5 and PC, that's what we're focusing on'."

 He did however apologise to PlayStation fans who may be 'unhappy or pissed' about the move. "How should you deal with that? I haven't the foggiest idea. I would never presume to say, 'Here's how you can make it better and feel better'."

I don't know how to allay the fears and concerns of PlayStation 5 fans, other than to say, 'I'm a PlayStation 5 player as well, and I've played games on that console, and there's games I'm going to continue to play on it. But if you want to play Starfield, [it's] PC and Xbox. Sorry. All I can really say is, I apologize.

The game is due to release on the 11th of November, and as mentioned will be exclusive to Xbox Series X/S and PC. It'll also be a launch day release on Xbox Game Pass.