Want to see Raider King content first? Add us as a preferred source.
Bethesda Game Studios’ much-anticipated sci-fi-themed action role-playing game Starfield has been released on Xbox Series X to much critical and audience praise. Unfortunately, the PC player base of the game has been facing various optimization issues that may affect the game’s review ratings during this critical launch window.
Publisher Bethesda has sadly become known over the years for their games being unoptimized on many platforms with stand-out examples including the PlayStation 3 port of Skyrim and the PC port of Fallout 76. The newest game to fit this trend is unfortunately the PC version of Starfield.
While Xbox owners were told months before release to expect a 30 FPS lock, PC users were told that their framerate would depend on their hardware. Thus fans expected to hit at least 60 FPS on up-to-date computers.
Sadly, even players with high-quality hardware such as a GeForce RTX 3080 have stated on Reddit that they have had inconsistent and low framerates while playing Starfield. Most players report that the game will jump between 35 and 40 FPS at random.
These FPS issues cannot simply be fixed by turning down the graphics settings or turning off your VRS either. No matter how much you degrade the game it is unlikely to run well.
Despite this, however, players will likely want to adjust those settings anyway as they will help fix another constant issue the game’s PC release has been having: crashing.
Related: Starfield: How to Fix Crashing on PC at the Start of the Game
Like many of Bethesda’s other PC releases, Starfield also has a near-constant crashing problem. Within minutes of the game, players are likely to experience stuttering and even hard software crashes. While there are ways to fix these issues, one must question if they are worth it.
Currently, publisher Bethesda has given no statement about these performance issues or if players can expect a patch within the near future. However, based on the publisher’s previous track record with releases like Fallout 76, players can likely expect many patches in the near future.
Until then though, gamers should take caution before purchasing Bethesda Game Software’s newest game on PC, as Xbox Series X is the current recommended platform.
Starfield is currently available to purchase for a price tag of $70 on Xbox Series S|X and PC via Steam or the Windows Storefront.
Glad I didn’t buy, will play on gamepass. Will wait to play for at least 6 months, if it is still shit won’t bother. Microsoft need to hit Bethesda with a big stick and let them know they need to improve, their usual business practices will not be tolerated.