Bethesda's space epic Starfield delayed again, naturally

It was a shock to the system in recent weeks when Bethesda, the developers of such bugless masterpieces as Skyrim and Fallout 76,  delayed its next big step in gaming: Starfield. Originally scheduled to release later this year, the announcement pushes the window back to the first half of 2023.

At moments like this, the famous Miyamoto quote “A delayed game is eventually good, a bad game is bad forever” comes to mind. While we can skip over if he is the originator of this quote to start with, it's fair to say there is a lot of truth to it. Looking at this policy of taking time with masterpieces like the long-delayed Breath of the Wild, it is very possible to turn a game into something much more than it was. Game delays are a more and more common part of gaming culture, so Bethesda is likely to see this as an easy win to make a better game at the end. 

On the other hand, not every delayed game ends up being great - or even polished. Cyberpunk 2077 is the poster boy of these issues. After decades of development,  the game still came out in a buggy mess. One of the reasons for this response was the hype train built around it. Cyberpunk was believed to be one of the greatest games of all time after its years of development. Bethesda needs to make sure this doesn't happen to Starfield, a game already with a lot on its shoulders as a brand new IP for the company famous for its own style of games.

It's likely this delay is in line with Bethesda being sold to Microsoft, which is on track to become a monster of gaming IPs going forward. It's possible a change in workplace culture and attitudes in the boardroom have led to more time being taken on their games as opposed to the rushed feel of many of their classic titles.

Whatever the reason, many will see this as a positive move, with many seeing the slide in-game quality from Skyrim to Fallout 4 to Fallout 76 as a sign the company thinks they can get away with a buggier game. But given we are still yet to see any gameplay from Starfield, maybe this delay is just to get any sort of game out at all!