Starfield looks to be every space-exploration fan’s dream game but will the Bethesda title ever be coming to PS5 or PS4 consoles?

Starfield is now just days away from launching, and Xbox players are gearing up to spend dozens of hours exploring the galaxy with their crew.

By all accounts, the game looks fantastic, but will Microsoft hardware owners be the only ones able to enjoy it?

Is Starfield Coming to PS5?

No, Starfield will never release on PS5 or PS4 consoles. Bethesda’s new game is unlikely to ever come to PlayStation devices, thanks to Microsoft’s acquisition of the publisher in 2021.

For those unaware, Microsoft successfully acquired ZeniMax Media, the parent company of Bethesda, for a whopping $7.5 billion.

At the time, the company honored Bethesda’s existing PS5 exclusivity commitments, such as bringing Deathloop and GhostWire: Tokyo to Sony’s console for a year before it came to Xbox.

However, as revealed by Phil Spencer in recent court hearings over Microsoft’s next attempted acquisition of Activision Blizzard, the Bethesda purchase was made in order to avoid Sony paying Bethesda for timed exclusivity over Starfield – something it had done with the aforementioned titles.

Alongside the ZeniMax acquisition announcement, Spencer confirmed that ‘some new titles’ would only be available on Microsoft’s platforms, namely Xbox and PC.

But at E3 2021, Xbox confirmed once and for all that Starfield would be exclusive to ‘platforms that support Xbox Game Pass.’

If Game Pass ever makes the jump to PlayStation (which seems about as unlikely as it gets), then Starfield will presumably be playable on the platform. But until that day, don’t expect to be able to be able to download and play the Bethesda game on a PS5.

Is Starfield an Xbox Exclusive Game?

Yes, Starfield is exclusive to Xbox consoles, but the Bethesda title will also be available on PC both via the Xbox Store and other marketplaces such as Steam.

Pete Hines, SVP of Global Marketing and Communications at Bethesda, spoke to GameSpot back in 2021, revealing that as a PlayStation owner himself, he understands that many players will be annoyed at the move:

“If you’re a big fan of stuff we make in a game that we’re making [and it] is no longer available on your platform, I totally understand if you are unhappy or pissed or whatever,” Hines stated. “I get it, those are all real feelings and frustrations.”

Bethesda Game Studio’s Director Todd Howard also spoke out about the exclusivity, praising the team at Microsoft regarding its vision of the future:

“We’re big believers in all of the avenues that Xbox and Microsoft are doing to get games to more people. Whether that’s the integration with the PC, which is huge for us, the cloud streaming and all those things.”

Thanks to Game Pass and Xbox’s dedication to cloud streaming, Howard believes more players will be able to play Starfield than they would have before the acquisition.

Whether that’s the case or not (PS5 is currently setting record sales figures), the fact of the matter is that if you’re not an Xbox fan and you want to play Starfield – you’d better get your hands on a PC.