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Todd Howard hopes for 'annual' Starfield story expansions for 'a very long time,' with Bethesda now 'planning for the one' after Shattered Space
Bethesda plans to release yearly story expansions for Starfield, with the first one, Shattered Space, being similar to Fallout 4's Far Harbor expansion. The studio is also considering adding new gameplay mechanics, such as a land vehicle, in future updates.
Bethesda isn't even close to finishing its work on Starfield it seems, with Todd Howard now confirming that the RPG may receive yearly story-related expansions following Shattered Space.
Speaking in an interview with content creator MrMattyPlays, Bethesda director and executive producer Todd Howard reveals the studio's future plans for Starfield following the upcoming Shattered Space release. When asked whether the developer is "aiming to do an annual story expansion every year," Howard says yes - "more or less." He explains that yearly expansion launches are indeed what the team is working toward, but he's not yet sure "how long" they will continue.
"Hopefully, a very long time," Howard continues - which could mean quite a few expansions to come. According to the legendary dev, Bethesda is already "planning for" its next one after Shattered Space. This doesn't mean that every story-related question in Starfield that players have will receive an answer, though, as what each expansion contains isn't pre-determined. "I don't know that our goal is to answer every question," Howard explains.
Instead, the studio looks for potential "angles" while working on expansions and asks itself, "What do we want to add to the game as far as an experience or a tone?" This sentiment isn't limited to just story-related additions, either. Howard confirms that Bethesda is also "looking at" releasing new gameplay mechanics later on, such as the RPG's "first land vehicle." Will we ever get alien mounts, Elder Scrolls style? One can only hope.