Despite Starfield being available for thousands of eager fans worldwide, some of these enthusiastic gamers are unable to play as the game remains locked past its official release time.

This sort of situation is unfortunately not uncommon with big titles. Here, we will cover the most common reasons why this happens and what solutions are available for you to get playing as soon as possible!

Starfield “You Are Too Early” Error Fixes

If you find a “You are too early” error when attempting to launch Starfield, and the official launch date and time for your region have already passed, follow these possible fixes until the issue is resolved:

• Make sure Starfield has officially launched depending on whether you have Early Access or not
  • If the following timers have not reached zero, then wait and relaunch the game once the countdown is over. Otherwise, you can proceed to the next troubleshooting steps.
    • Early Access is already live.
    • Global Launch:
• Completely close Starfield on your Xbox console or PC and relaunch the game
  • For Xbox: Press the menu button on the Starfield icon on the main dashboard and select “Close Game” to fully exit the software.
  • For Steam: Go to your Steam Library, right-click on Starfield, and select “Stop”.
• Wait 10 minutes
  • Wait at least ten minutes past launch time and try relaunching the game. This will help avoid any You are too early error messages after Starfield’s release.
• Restart your console or PC
  • On Xbox, make sure you hold the Xbox button on your controller and select restart.
• Check your Internet connection
  • To launch the game the first time, especially if you purchased the digital edition of the game, you will require an Internet connection so the console or PC can verify it is past release time.
• Reinstall Starfield on your Xbox or PC
  • We advise you to take this measure as a last resort and wait a few hours to try again before uninstalling. Almost all locked errors that prevent a game like Starfield from launching on release day are promptly solved by the steps above or the quick intervention of the developer.

Why Does Starfield’s “You Are Too Early” Error Message Occurs?

It is possible that when launching Starfield precisely at the time of release, it might result in a “You are too early” error due to minor server delays as the game goes live worldwide.

Thankfully, this gets sorted out in ten minutes or less for most launch events. In most cases, all you have to do is have some patience and try again in a few minutes.

Do You Need to Connect to the Internet to Play Starfield?

If you have a physical copy of the game, you will not need an active internet connection to play Starfield for the first time at launch.

However, you must be online to launch your digital edition for the first time.

These requirements only apply the first time you launch the game. Once the game license has been activated, you will not require an online connection to start the game if you meet the following criteria:

• Game Pass and digital game versions: As long as your Xbox console is your “Home Xbox,” you can play offline.
• PC Xbox App: The app will likely require you to log in every 30 days. This is done to check your Game Pass subscription is active. Once that process is done, you can play your Starfield copy without being online.
• Steam: Steam works similarly, offering an offline mode after the launch date but requiring an internet connection to start the game for the first time on the release day.
• Physical Copy: No internet required.