Datamine Leaks Starfield Space Exploration to Get Revamp

Bethesda, the developer behind Starfield, has finally unveiled some of the planned updates for the game, confirming enhancements to space exploration designed to make interstellar travel more engaging and satisfying.

Earlier this month, code fragments discovered by the Starfield community hinted that Bethesda was developing a more seamless space travel system, though it may still come with certain limitations. While it appears possible to journey between planets within the same star system, fans noted that full inter-system travel—flying all the way between different systems—likely won't be possible. Additionally, direct atmospheric flight from a planet’s surface into orbit, similar to what's offered in No Man's Sky, also seems unlikely.

Players uncovered references to this new feature, referred to in the game files as "Cruise Mode," and shared their findings on Reddit. However, Bethesda reportedly released another minor update to remove these references.

Now, in a new career retrospective video, veteran Bethesda developer Tim Lamb confirmed that the studio has been actively refining Starfield’s space gameplay and that a new story-based DLC is still in the pipeline.

“I’m genuinely excited for players to see what our teams have been working on for Starfield,” he shared. “We have some exciting updates on the way, including free features players have requested, as well as a brand-new DLC story.

“While I can’t share everything just yet, I can confirm that part of the development team has been dedicated to improving space exploration, making the experience more immersive and worthwhile. We’re also introducing new gameplay systems and a few other smaller surprises. Plus, there’s some really creative content coming from our verified creators—lots of fun things ahead.

“I want to extend our gratitude. We truly value the ongoing support and enthusiasm from our players, and we’re eager to deliver these updates to you.”

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Last month, Bethesda hinted at "exciting things" coming soon to Starfield—likely referring to these updates. However, Starfield was absent from gamescom 2025 last week, which raised further questions among the community.

Earlier reports suggested that Starfield’s second expansion and the highly anticipated PlayStation 5 port have been delayed to 2026, following the mixed reception of the 2024 Shattered Space expansion. Although Todd Howard, Bethesda’s studio head, previously mentioned the goal of annual expansions, the studio may view the addition of enhanced space travel as a way to maintain player engagement in the meantime.

Starfield launched in September 2023 as Bethesda’s first original IP in 25 years, but it didn't receive the same level of acclaim as the studio's previous titles from the Fallout and The Elder Scrolls series. The Shattered Space expansion, released a year later in September 2024, currently holds a 'mostly negative' user review score on Steam.

While Starfield has attracted 15 million players, speculation about whether Bethesda might scale back support to focus on other franchises has persisted since its launch. In June 2024, Bethesda reaffirmed its commitment to the game, confirming that at least one more story expansion is planned after Shattered Space. In an interview with the YouTube channel MrMattyPlays, Todd Howard also expressed the studio's goal to release a new story expansion each year for what he hopes will be “a very long time.”

Reflecting on the game's development, Lamb described the process as “akin to developing four games simultaneously.”

“You have the core experience—running around, engaging in combat with aliens and space enemies. Then there’s spaceflight, piloting your ship and dogfighting with others. On top of that, there’s the ship-building mechanic and the outpost construction system. To me, working on Starfield felt like creating four distinct games at once.”