Beiträge von Constellation
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Wccftech recently participated in a Redfall preview event in London's Bethesda headquarters. You can check out my hands-on preview of the game here. After playing, I interviewed Arkane Austin veteran and Redfall creative director Harvey Smith, who revealed that there won't be any in-game store or microtransactions in the game. He also confirmed that Redfall is set to become the most supported title ever made by the studio after its debut.
We try to be very clear that there are no microtransactions and there is no store in the game. We're very proud of that. If you find a costume in the game, then you can have it, as simple as that. Other than that, Redfall will be our most supported game post-launch. We went with a server model, so we can update the game constantly. If we see a lot of people falling from ladders and dying, we can update the ladder code. If we see that nobody is playing this character, we can tweak this character and make them more appealing. We have plans for additional guns, costumes, monsters, characters, and more that we can't talk about right now. But we have a strong year of updates, and it's all either in the current game or it will be DLC. We try to do it as fairly as possible for people.
Fans had been worried about Redfall having microtransactions and/or an in-game store for cosmetics following a set of leaked images from a playtest in the second half of 2021. Those images clearly showed that an in-game shop was at some point included, but Arkane, Bethesda, and/or Microsoft have obviously since reconsidered.
Originally scheduled for Summer 2022, Redfall was delayed to the first half of 2023 alongside the big next IP of Bethesda Game Studios, Starfield. Both games now have their new release dates, with Redfall pinned for May 2nd and Starfield for September 6th. Both games will be exclusive to PC and Xbox Series S|X, as well as available on Game Pass from day one.
The post Redfall Has No In-Game Store or MTX, Will Be Arkane’s Most Supported Title by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/redfall-h…nes-most-supported-title/
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According to market research and consulting firm DFC Intelligence, Microsoft's upcoming Xbox first-party lineup isn't enough to reduce Sony's market share.
That's what the firm writes in a new article that we received via email. With Microsoft lacking a steady stream of big first-party Xbox exclusives quite for quite some time, Sony has been leading when it comes to big games from its first-party studios. The gap, however, is closing when it comes to exclusives, especially in 2023 with Microsoft having more notable exclusives geared up compared to Sony (Starfield, Redfall, etc). This is partly due to Xbox game delays last year, but also due to Sony being able to out its exclusives in 2022. "The downside of Sony getting its games out on time in 2022 is the 2023 lineup is thin", the DFC writes in its article.
Despite Microsoft closing in on Xbox when it comes to exclusives, this won't be enough to substantially lower Sony's market share. "Of course, the big question is will these major titles be enough to encourage consumers to buy an Xbox Series X/S over a PlayStation 5", the article reads. "Currently, DFC Intelligence believes the answer is no. These titles have been anticipated for some time and presumably have been factored into purchase decisions. On the contrary, if a title like Starfield does not meet expectations it could hurt Xbox Series X/S sales."
The DFC adds another issue for Microsoft might be that there's not a major need for consumers to buy Xbox hardware as players can get a PS5 alongside a Switch and subscribe to Game Pass on PC to be able to play major Xbox games.
In its article, the research firm also briefly mentions the highly-debated planned merger between Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard, which is believed to get approved, which could greatly benefit Microsoft when it comes to competing with Sony. If the deal doesn't pass, it could greatly hurt Microsoft. "If it is not approved, Microsoft’s position in the video game industry will be in jeopardy", the FTC writes. "Yes, Xbox has some big exclusives in the pipeline but currently, they are not enough to chop into the PlayStation market share."
An interesting take on the console landscape for sure. What are your thoughts about this analysis? Do you agree with the FTC about Microsoft catching up on Sony when it comes to exclusives? Will the planned merger go through? What if it doesn't? Hit the comments down below and discuss.
The post Microsoft’s Upcoming Xbox First Party Lineup Isn’t Enough to Chop Into Sony’s Market Share, DFC Says by Aernout van de Velde appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/microsoft…gh-sony-market-share-dfc/
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»Dies sind die letzten Tage des Dritten Zeitalters. Und die letzten Stunden meines Lebens«. Bekommt ihr bei diesen Worten sofort Gänsehaut und schmettert den Soundtrack von Oblivion aus voller Kehle? Wir schon! The Elder Scrolls 4 öffnete vor genau 17 Jahren zum ersten Mal seine Pforten für uns. Einige von euch werden sich an diese ferne Vergangenheit des Jahres 2008 erinnern, als uns die Grafik von Oblivion zum Staunen brachte. Gut, heute sieht es für uns aus, als läge ein Unschärfe-Filter drüber, aber die Nostalgiebrille macht doch alles schön! Für viele aus der Redaktion ist Oblivion bis heute eins der stärksten und einflussreichsten Rollenspiele aller Zeiten. Geraldine zählt es sogar zu ihren absoluten Top-Spielen, die sie euch im Podcast verrät. Und Martin findet, auch Elder Scrolls 6 muss von den Stärken und Schwächen Oblivions lernen. Kommt ein Remake? Während Bethesda selbst aktuell an Starfield (und hoffentlich auch schon Elder Scrolls 6) arbeitet, werkeln Fans am Mega-Projekt Skyblivion, das spätestens 2025 erscheinen soll.
Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/videos…er-von-damals,123961.html
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»Dies sind die letzten Tage des Dritten Zeitalters. Und die letzten Stunden meines Lebens«. Bekommt ihr bei diesen Worten sofort Gänsehaut und schmettert den Soundtrack von Oblivion aus voller Kehle? Wir schon! The Elder Scrolls 4 öffnete vor genau 17 Jahren zum ersten Mal seine Pforten für uns. Einige von euch werden sich an diese ferne Vergangenheit des Jahres 2008 erinnern, als uns die Grafik von Oblivion zum Staunen brachte. Gut, heute sieht es für uns aus, als läge ein Unschärfe-Filter drüber, aber die Nostalgiebrille macht doch alles schön! Für viele aus der Redaktion ist Oblivion bis heute eins der stärksten und einflussreichsten Rollenspiele aller Zeiten. Geraldine zählt es sogar zu ihren absoluten Top-Spielen, die sie euch im Podcast verrät. Und Martin findet, auch Elder Scrolls 6 muss von den Stärken und Schwächen Oblivions lernen. Kommt ein Remake? Während Bethesda selbst aktuell an Starfield (und hoffentlich auch schon Elder Scrolls 6) arbeitet, werkeln Fans am Mega-Projekt Skyblivion, das spätestens 2025 erscheinen soll.
Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/videos…er-von-damals,123961.html
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Starfield, the first new intellectual property developed by Bethesda Game Studios in over twenty-five years, is less than six months away from its release date. In case you need further proof than the official release date announcement, now we also have the official rating assigned to the game by the Australian board.
Starfield has been restricted to 18+ gamers, though that's not very surprising since Australians tend to be extremely strict with their ratings. The game's page actually includes breakdowns of the various themes and their impact as it was gauged by the board.
There's 'strong impact' violence in Starfield, while language and themes have been rated to be of 'moderate impact', nudity has only a 'very mild impact', and sex has no impact - likely meaning there is none in the game (though mods will take care of that in short order, we reckon). The reason the game received an 18+ rating is the drug use, which has been deemed to be of 'high impact.
Starfield hasn't been rated by the United States ESRB or the European PEGI yet, but it's conceivable the rating will be slightly lower there. All of the latest games launched by Bethesda Game Studios (The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout 4, and Fallout 76) have received a Mature (17+) rating by the ESRB.
Originally announced at E3 2018 alongside The Elder Scrolls VI as a means to reassure fans that two big single player games would follow the Fallout 76 multiplayer experiment, Starfield first received an in-game teaser trailer at E3 2021. At the time, the developers also shared the planned November 11th, 2022 release date, which would have marked the eleventh anniversary of the launch of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the company's most successful game ever.
However, the game was delayed in early 2022 (alongside Arkane's Redfall) to the first half of 2023. A few days ago, Bethesda Game Studios confirmed another short delay: Starfield is now scheduled to hit physical and digital stores on September 6th. The game's director, Todd Howard, will present a detailed showcase called Starfield Direct on June 11th, immediately following the Xbox Games Showcase at E3 Digital 2023.
Starfield, powered by the latest iteration of the Creation Engine (described by the developers as the biggest tech overhaul they made from game to game, particularly in the areas of rendering, animation, pathing, and procedural generation), will be available on PC and Xbox Series S|X. Just like all Xbox titles, it will be included in the Game Pass library on day one.
The post Starfield Gets 18+ Rating by Australian Board by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/starfield…ting-by-australian-board/
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In 2022, the gaming market for PC and consoles slowed down after two incredibly successful years (especially 2021) fueled by all the lockdowns caused by the COVID pandemic.
Leading gaming market research firm Newzoo estimates in its newest report that PC and console games earned $92.3 billion in revenue last year, a 2.2% decline over 2021. This is mostly due to the console gaming market, which declined by 4.2%, while the PC games market for premium games actually grew by 1.8%. According to Newzoo, there were 1.1 billion PC gamers and 611 million console gamers last year.
The average playtime of PC and console users also decreased by 23% in 2022 compared to 2021. That said, the analysts underline that this isn't a negative record; the playtime has simply gone back to pre-pandemic levels. Moreover, major delayed games like Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (now due to hit Nintendo Switch on May 12th) and Bethesda's Starfield (scheduled to be released for PC and Xbox Series S|X on September 6th) impacted both playtime and spending in 2022.
Even with this decrease, over 100 billion hours were spent playing PC and console games in 2022. An average of 15 games were played per player on each platform, and the average spend in the US market on each platform was $200.
Newzoo also reminds everyone that the PC and console markets still registered a 5.8% CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) from 2015 to 2022.
In fact, going back to their pre-pandemic forecasts for 2020-2022, the gaming market went much better in these three years than originally estimated by Newzoo; the total revenue is $32.8 billion higher.
In 2022, the geographical split between countries and continents remained largely the same. Combined, the United States of America and China account for roughly 48% of spending in the PC and console gaming market.
Newzoo provided a Top 10 chart for monthly active users (MAUs) registered on each main platform (PC, Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo). Fortnite topped the Xbox and PlayStation ones but also ranked second on Nintendo and third on PC, demonstrating the resilience of Epic's popular free-to-play game.
PC Xbox PlayStation Nintendo Switch 1 ROBLOX 1 Fortnite 1 Fortnite 1 Pokémon Scarlet/Violet 2 Call of Duty Modern Warfare II/ Warzone 2.0 2 Call of Duty Modern Warfare II/ Warzone 2.0 2 Call of Duty Modern Warfare II/ Warzone 2.0 2 Fortnite 3 Fortnite 3 Grand Theft Auto V 3 Grand Theft Auto V 3 Fall Guys 4 Minecraft 4 Minecraft 4 Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone 4 Mario Kart 8 5 Apex Legends 5 Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone 5 Apex Legends 5 Minecraft 6 Call of Duty Modern Warfare/Warzone 6 High on Life 6 NBA 2K23 6 Pokémon Legends: Arceus 7 The Sims 4 7 ROBLOX 7 NBA 2K22 7 Rocket League 8 Overwatch 1& 2 8 Apex Legends 8 God of War: Ragnarok 8 Animal Crossing: New Horizons 9 Valorant 9 Fall Guys 9 Minecraft 9 Nintendo Switch Sports 10 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive 10 NBA 2K22 10 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War 10 Splatoon 3 According to the report, the games that performed the best in 2022 had mixed revenue models (premium plus microtransactions), with in-game spending accounting for nearly half of the total revenue. In the US, the following titles topped their respective launch months:
- January - Pokémon Legends Arceus
- February - Elden Ring
- March - Tiny Tina's Wonderlands
- April - LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
- May - Evil Dead: The Game
- June - Mario Strikers: Battle League
- July - Stray
- August - Madden NFL 23
- September - NBA 2K23
- October - Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II
- November - God of War Ragnarok
- December - Need for Speed Unbound
Newzoo anticipates that PC and console games will soon adopt hybrid monetization models, including in-game advertising, which is more viable than ever. The firm also expects that more triple-A and double-A developers and publishers will dip their toes into the live service strategy for their biggest franchises.
Newzoo forecasts strong growth for the gaming market in 2023 and beyond, mostly fueled by console gaming as you can see in the above slide.
The post PC/Console Gaming Market Slows Down by 2.2% in 2022, But Newzoo Reckons 2023 Will Be a Strong Growth Year by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/pc-consol…-be-a-strong-growth-year/
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Redfall has received a new official story trailer providing an overview of the game's "thrilling" story.
The new story trailer is courtesy of IGN and was published some minutes ago. Check it out down below:
Redfall will release on May 2nd for PC and Xbox Series S|X and will support cross-play between PC and Xbox. As covered yesterday, Arkane Studio's upcoming open-world, single-player and co-op shooter will also support NVIDIA DLSS3, Ray tracing, and Reflex on PC.
Arkane's title was first slated for a release last year but was later delayed into 2023. "We've made the decision to delay the launches of Redfall and Starfield to the first half of 2023", Bethesda wrote last year. "The teams at Arkane Austin (Redfall) and Bethesda Game Studios (Starfield) have incredible ambitions for their games, and we want to ensure that you receive the best, most polished versions of them."
As expressed by Xbox boss Phil Spencer last year, delaying Redfall and Starfield was necessary in order to be able to deliver the quality that the teams intended the games to have.
“I think positioning it as a decision might be slightly wrong, at least for me”, the Xbox head said. “It isn’t really a decision to move a game after spending the team’s effort over multiple years just to get to a point where you know you’re not going to deliver the game you want on the date that was promised. Now, it is at some level, because I have shipped games too early. We have experienced shipping games too early.”
Spencer added, “For any game, but definitely for our games Starfield and Redfall — which are our first big Xbox games with ZeniMax coming into the team — I just wanted to make sure those teams felt they had all the support they could get from Xbox, and to maybe feel some of the benefit of being part of a larger organization that has other revenue streams and other helpful things going on. In the end, I believe the quality of the games will be better and customers will find the experience to be more interesting, which will hopefully feel like the right decision in hindsight.”
We'll update you as soon as more information about Redfall comes in. What are your thoughts about this new story trailer? Are you excited or will you be skipping this game once it releases in a couple of months? Hit the comments down below.
The post Redfall Receives Official Thrilling Story Trailer by Aernout van de Velde appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/redfall-r…s-official-story-trailer/
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The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has requested some more information on the current deals that Microsoft has with Nintendo and NVIDIA in the wake of the Activision Blizzard acquisition. The new documentation filed yesterday outlines the FTC's concerns with the information submitted by Microsoft as the merger continues to be put in jeopardy. Now, the governing body wants more insight into the agreements made with both companies.
The FTC alleges in the documents that Microsoft intends to use the agreements to justify the acquisition to regulatory bodies. The thing with the agreements is that despite how much Microsoft has touted the agreements themselves, they haven't given details pertaining to what'll happen to Microsoft's exclusivity plans with content besides Call of Duty. In other words, this also involves content from Zenimax and Activision Blizzard.
One wouldn't be remiss to remember the fact that games like Starfield were at least planned to be multiplatform prior to the acquisition of Zenimax. Now that the title is exclusive to Xbox, the possibility for exclusivity deals for titles other than Call of Duty exists. Thus, this is why the extent of the FTC's issues with Microsoft's statements extends beyond just the military shooter franchise.
Because of this, the FTC also seeks to review all the documents related to the exclusivity of content that Microsoft acquired from ZeniMax and the exclusivity of content they intend to acquire from Activision Blizzard should the merger go through. In other words, that stunt that Microsoft pulled with PlayStation when the former subpoenaed the latter about its third-party exclusivity deals is now going to come back right back at it.
Moreover, the FTC also wants to gain some insight regarding a redacted project involving Microsoft's next-gen gaming ecosystem. The exact details of this project are unknown but it could be referring to Microsoft's future plans regarding bringing future games from Xbox to all kinds of platforms... Either that or insight into their future console plans and gaming services, which also does involve cloud streaming.
The FTC states that Microsoft has refused to produce internal documents related to the agreements or communications with third parties other than NVIDIA, Nintendo, and Sony. As such, the tech giant shouldn't be permitted to rely on these agreements without producing the requested documentation. The document also asks Activision Blizzard to produce documents that were missing from the earlier phase of proceedings, such as the findings relating to the relevance of cross-play, factors that affect customer purchasing, and other kinds of data.
Stay tuned for more updates on this story as they come.
The post FTC Wants More information Regarding Microsoft’s Agreements with Nintendo and NVIDIA by Ule Lopez appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/ftc-wants…with-nintendo-and-nvidia/
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Redfall, the upcoming game developed by Arkane Austin and published by Bethesda Softworks, will enjoy a full NVIDIA partnership for its PC version. The news isn't official yet, but it might as well be, as UK PC retailer Punch Technology published a page dedicated to the bundle promotion (first spotted by VideoCardz).
For a limited period of time, purchasing a GeForce RTX 4090, 4080, or 4070Ti graphics card, or a desktop PC with one of those cards, or a laptop with an RTX 4090 or 4080 laptop graphics card will entitle customers to receive Redfall Bite Back Edition for free. This is the priciest version of the game at $/€ 99.99 or £83.99. It includes the following items:
- Redfall Base Game
- Redfall Hero Pass with Two Future Heroes
- Laser Beam Multi-Weapon Skin
- Tactical Knife Stake Weapon Attachment
- Northern Expedition Devinder Outfit
- Eyes in the Dark Jacob Outfit
- War Clothes Layla Outfit
- Engineer Volunteer Remi Outfit
All editions of the game, when pre-ordered, grant the Vampire Hunter Pack, which comes with a Level 2 Unrivaled Grim Tide Shotgun , a Polar Vortex Multi-Weapon Skin, and a Blood Ravager Stake Weapon Attachment. Do note that this promotion will likely only apply to select retailers, such as the aforementioned Punch Technology.
The promotion page also reveals that Redfall will include support for NVIDIA DLSS 3 (and 2 as well, since Frame Generation is separate from Super Resolution), ray tracing, and Reflex. We don't know yet which effects will be ray traced; for reference, Arkane's previous game Deathloop supports ray traced sun shadows and ray traced ambient occlusion.
Redfall will be released on May 2nd for PC and Xbox Series S|X with cross-play enabled between the platforms. Originally scheduled to be launched at some point in Summer 2022, it was delayed to the first half of 2023 at the same time as Starfield from Bethesda Game Studios.
Redfall is the first open world first-person shooter made by Arkane, not to mention their first title to support cooperative play (up to four players). Set on the titular island (fictionally located in Massachusetts), it stars four playable characters who attempt to take back Redfall from a score of vampires who managed to blot out the sun and gain complete control of the island with the help of their human cultist subjects.
Just like all Bethesda titles following Microsoft's acquisition of parent company ZeniMax Media, Redfall will be added to the Game Pass library on day one. A new story trailer is coming out tomorrow, according to the official Twitter account.
The post Redfall Will Support NVIDIA DLSS 3, Ray Tracing and Reflex; Will Be Bundled with RTX 40 GPUs by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/redfall-w…bundled-with-rtx-40-gpus/
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Following earlier rumors, a Microsoft spokesperson has now confirmed to IGN that Xbox won't have a presence on the physical showfloor at the upcoming E3 2023.
This year, Microsoft's efforts will focus on the Xbox Games Showcase, which is scheduled to take place on June 11th. The company plans to co-stream it as part of E3 Digital, but that's about the extent of their contribution to this year's edition of the Electronic Entertainment Expo.
It is unclear why Microsoft would choose this course. Phil Spencer, the company's CEO of Gaming, had expressed support for E3 just about a month ago. In an interview with IGN, he had called the Electronic Entertainment Expo one of the seminal moments of gaming, adding that Microsoft (a board member of the Entertainment Software Association, or ESA) would continue working with the ESA to make the event successful.
The absence of Microsoft and Xbox will certainly be troublesome for E3 in a year that marks its return as a physical event for the first time since 2019, the pre-COVID era. It'll be even more so if the remaining parts of the aforementioned rumor turn out to be true, with the other platform holders (Sony and Nintendo) also reportedly foregoing E3 2023.
It's not all doom and gloom for the event yet, though. Other major publishers may well attend, such as Ubisoft, with CEO Yves Guillemot going on record with the following quote:
If E3 happens, we will be there, and we will have a lot of things to show.
Meanwhile, the new organizers of the event at ReedPop (the same company behind Penny Arcade Expo) just revealed that the E3 2023 Digital Week will open on Sunday, June 11th, featuring recurring events like the Future Games Show and the PC Gaming Show. Others are planned, according to ReedPop, but will be unveiled at a later date.
The actual physical event will take place as usual at the Los Angeles Convention Center between June 13th and June 16th. It will be split between E3 Business Days for the press and E3 Gamer Days for the public.
The Xbox Games Showcase due to air at E3 2023 Digital will be particularly important for Microsoft, too. 2022 was a disappointing year in terms of first-party releases, so Xbox fans are eagerly anticipating new looks at upcoming exclusives. Moreover, Bethesda Game Studios announced that the Starfield Direct will air just after the Xbox Games Showcase, finally unveiling the upcoming open world sci-fi RPG from the makers of Skyrim.
The post Xbox Won’t Be on the E3 2023 Showfloor, Microsoft Confirms by Alessio Palumbo appeared first on Wccftech.
Quelle: https://wccftech.com/xbox-wont…floor-microsoft-confirms/
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Völlug ohne Vorwarnung hat Bethesda das Release-Datum von Starfield verraten: Das Rollenspiel erscheint am 6. September 2023. Am Sonntag, den 11. Juni 2023 findet außerdem eine Starfield-Show statt, auf der viele weitere Infos enthüllt werden. Im Trailer sehen wir rätselhafte Gebäude, Techologien und Sternenwirbel, deren Bedeutung wir im Lauf der Story aufdecken sollen. Nach den Ingame-Szenen taucht Bethesda-Chef Todd Howard auf, bedakt sich für die Geduld der Fans und verkündet dann das Release-Datum seines neuesten Werks. Schon jetzt wissen wir jede Menge über die neue Marke der Elder-Scrolls- und Fallout-Macher. EIn besonders fleißiger Fan hat auf über 400 Seiten wirklich alle bekannten Details zu Starfield zusammengetragen.
Quelle: https://www.gamestar.de/videos…um-im-trailer,123816.html
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Nachdem der Release am 11. November 2022 nicht geklappt hat und Starfield vage ins erste Halbjahr 2023 verschoben wurde, folgt nun eine weitere Verschieben – dafür aber direkt mit neuem Releasetermin. Statt im ersten Halbjahr erscheint das SciFi-Rollenspiel der Skyrim-Entwickler*innen nun im zweiten Halbjahr, genauer gesagt am 6. September. Zusammen mit dem neuen Releasetermin wurde im Video mit der Starfield Direkt auch ein extra Showcase für den 11. Juni 2023 angekündigt, bei dem es sicherlich einiges zum Rollenspiel zu sehen geben wird. Starfield erscheint nun am 6. September 2023 Day One im Game Pass für Xbox Series X/S und PC.
Quelle: https://www.gamepro.de/videos/…-rollenspiels,123815.html