Don’t expect Starfield to be Skyrim in space, Phil Spencer says it’s actually closer to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion!
Gamescom is in full flow and the latest news from Bethesda’s Starfield is finally making its way to the fans. After a disturbing lack of marketing for the space exploration RPG title that drops next week, Xbox is finally open to talking about it.
And now we’re getting some words from Xbox Boss Phil Spencer himself, who reports that he’s on his 15th playthrough of Starfield right now.
Skyrim fans have been eagerly awaiting the next major RPG by Bethesda Game Studios, but it turns out that Starfield may feel closer to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion!
Phil Spencer: Starfield is More Oblivion Than Skyrim
In a new interview with IGN posted to TikTok, CEO of Microsoft Gaming and Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announces that he feels Starfield is ‘more Oblivion than Skyrim’.
“I’m playing, I think on my final character playthrough – total space pirate. I’m a total space pirate,” Spencer confirms. “I think it’s more Oblivion than Skyrim, for people who’ve played, maybe they’ll get that.”
For those unaware, Oblivion was the fourth entry in The Elder Scrolls franchise, while Skyrim was the fifth and by far the most popular.
However, Oblivion is still a fan-favorite title, known for excellent writing, memorable questlines, and strong RPG elements.
Unlike Skyrim, the game didn’t allow you to easily become a jack-of-all-trades, making your decisions and character roles far more important.
Instead, leveling up in Oblivion was more efficient when focusing on your character’s major skills. It leaned more heavily into the role-playing aspect of the RPG genre, while Skyrim players could easily max out every skill they set their minds to.
As such, we can perhaps glean that Spencer’s role as a ‘total space pirate’ is the culmination of his decisions in that playthrough.
And while he could one day decide that he wants to be a more honest and honorable character instead, that may be tricky to accomplish without beginning a new save file.
Plus, speaking of Oblivion, that was the birthplace of the Adoring Fan, who is already confirmed to be returning in Starfield!
We already have confirmation that Craig Sechler, the voice artist who portrayed the Adoring Fan in Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, has reprised his role for this NPC.
