Starfield might not be getting a physical disc release

In another bad move for physical preservation, of Bethesda next star field apparently it will not have a physical release.

Earlier today, as spotted by Wario64, a Twitter user asked the official Bethesda support Twitter account if “the standard physical edition of Starfield for Series X” includes a disc, and the support account replied: “Hello All physical editions include a code for your chosen platform. There are no physical discs.” The Bethesda Support tweet has since been deleted. This practice of releasing a physical box that includes a code is relatively common for box releases of indie games, but not much has happened in the AAA space so far.

Starfield is the latest and easily the biggest game to confirm that it won’t be getting a release on any kind of disc. Earlier this year, Remedy announced that Alan Wake 2 will have a digital-only release, apparently the reasoning is to keep the cost of the game lower. And it also looks like Like a Dragon Gaiden will also have a digital release, at least in the West. But obviously there’s no denying that Starfield is the most notable of all these titles. Aside from Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Bethesda’s latest will easily be the biggest game of the year.

As noted in Bethesda support’s tweet, “all physical editions include a code,” which means the fancy $300 Constellation Edition will only include a code in one box as well.

Considering the tweet was deleted, it’s quite possible that some sort of miscommunication occurred, although with the increasing trends towards digital-only releases, it unfortunately wouldn’t be all that surprising if this were the case. Best to keep an eye on Bethesda’s official social media channels for more updates.

Starfield will launch on September 6 on Xbox Series X/S and PC.