Bethesda Game Studios released the Starfield Shattered Space expansion roughly two months ago. The reception, however, wasn't great. On Wccftech, the expansion got a mere six out of ten, whereas the base game was rated nine out of ten. Francesco De Meo wrote about Starfield Shattered Space:
The Starfield Shattered Space expansion leaves a lot to be desired. While it introduces a more focused and engaging story compared to the base game, the average map and quest design, along with the lack of new features, turn the adventure in Va'Ruun'kai into a bit of a slog rather quickly. Although the tighter focus is welcome, the Starfield experience as a whole needs something more substantial to reach its full potential.
One of the complaints cited in the above quote was directly addressed by Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer in his recent interview with Game File (where he also discussed the true reasons behind Avowed's delay). According to the executive, Bethesda will try to tune the development efforts for future expansions and free updates.
We're always learning. Todd Howard and I were talking about Shattered Space. Starfield is a game I put a ton of hours into and really love, but they've had this thing where they've added features throughout the year and then they had an expansion. I think some of the feedback on the expansion is: ‘We wanted more features.’ And he's like, ‘Well, should we have waited to put buggies out? And so, I think you're trying to tune both development effort and the impact of the expansion. And I think there will always be a balance to managing the game month to month.
Spencer was also quick to point out that Microsoft does not mandate the release of expansions for every game, despite the recent releases (beyond Bethesda's Starfield Shattered Space, Blizzard launched Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred and World of Warcraft: The War Within).
Not every game will do expansions. It's really left to the creators what plan they have for their stories. I think it's a great way for us to reengage players who may be lapsed. I don't like expansions that are manipulative. I want it to have a unique point of view. I don't want it to be, like, the third level that you cut before you launched.
Bethesda hasn't yet spoken about what's next after Starfield Shattered Space, but we'll be sure to report it here as soon as we learn about it.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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