In either a desperate act of brand loyalty or a brilliant piece of satire, a Change.org petition has been created to make Starfield exclusive for PS5.
It’s a pretty extreme reaction to the recent hype surrounding Starfield and its exclusivity to Xbox and PC.
Joke or no, here’s what the petition is about and how people have responded to it.
What is the Starfield PS5 Petition?
The Starfield PS5 Petition is an online appeal that is asking for people’s signatures to get Bethesda to make Starfield a PS5-exclusive game.
This is surely a response to Microsoft making Starfield exclusive to Xbox and PC after acquiring Bethesda in 2021.
Before this, Starfield was in development since 2018 and was planned to be released on both Sony’s and Microsoft’s platforms.
Benjamin Dickey, the disgruntled fan who created the Change.org petition, isn’t having any of it.
What Are the Starfield PS5 Petition’s Demands?
As the Change.org post dictates, the petition demands, quite vehemently, to “Make Starfield a PS5 EXCLUSIVE!!!!”.
It gives a variety of reasons for this, all in a colorful and outraged manner.
Dickey claims that Bethesda’s games “run better and sell better” on PlayStation. He states how not allowing it on Sony’s platform would “hurt the player base”.
In an obvious attempt to stoke the flames of rivalry between the two competing fanbases, Dickey says that “Xbox and its 12 dedicated players do NOT deserve Starfield or any exclusivity”. He states that Xbox fans are “arrogant and annoying”.
Dickey goes on to claim that “if it releases on Xbox, it’s a bad game” and that Microsoft has a very low bar for quality.
Not only does Dickey suggest that Starfield should be a PlayStation exclusive, but he also states that “ANY AND ALL future Bethesda titles should be ONLY PlayStation exclusives”.
Lastly, Dickey calls for mass protests and legislative action to reach his desired goals, claiming you are not a “true gamer” if you don’t comply.
How Are Gamers Responding to the Starfield PS5 Petition
Unsurprisingly, the majority of people view the petition as farcical and mock it for its ridiculously outlandish demands and claims.
Despite this, the petition has managed to gain some small amount of traction with over 2,000 signatures at the time of this writing.
Many have been so taken aback by the post that they’ve taken it upon themselves to make a Change.org account and sign the petition, just to leave their thoughts in the comments:
There has also been a variety of responses on social media. This PS5 player points out the petition’s stupidity:
I’ve seen that Starfield petition and as a preferred ps5 player…I had to laugh at this.. Never gonna happen!! And I don’t think it should either.
— Be In Laughters (@shaune_gilbert) June 19, 2023
Just dumb. pic.twitter.com/PNkBjoKlre
Many people question the legitimacy of the petition – IGN’s Destin Legarie suspects it to be a ‘troll post’:
This user points out the ridiculousness of brand loyalty, and how rampant fanboyism is in itself exhausting:
Console wars are a tale as old as time. Whether a troll post or not, this isn’t the first petition for platform exclusivity and it will likely not be the last.
