Starfield Reportedly Has Major Plans for 2026

New rumors have begun circulating that Starfield, the controversial space RPG from Bethesda, could be about to receive its Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 moment in 2026 with a major new update. Information surrounding the extent of the patch appears to be conflicted at the time of writing, but multiple insiders have now claimed that Bethesda is gearing up to release a new Starfield update in 2026.

In 2018, Bethesda shocked gamers when it announced Starfield, the first new IP from the studio in over 25 years. After focusing on The Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises for so long, fans were hyped to see how Bethesda would handle an entirely new universe. Unfortunately, Starfield failed to live up to the hype for a lot of gamers. Although critics’ reviews were generally favorable, constant loading screens, repetitive procedurally generated planets, as well as the inability to travel seamlessly between them, left fans feeling pretty disappointed. Not everyone felt that way, though, as many continued to support Starfield in hopes that Bethesda would continue releasing updates and improve the game’s overall state.

Things got even worse for Starfield with the launch of its Shattered Space DLC in 2024, which received mostly negative reviews for its lack of innovation and its $30 price tag for very little content. Still, fans remained hopeful for the future of the game until recently. Earlier this year, Bethesda told fans it was working on big things for the game and that more details would be shared by the end of the year. As time went on, many began questioning when such a reveal was going to take place. The Game Awards, which seemed like the perfect opportunity for the studio to pull back the curtain on the future of Starfield, came and went with no news once again, resulting in some fans saying they are done with the title. However, it looks like there could still be hope, as new rumors suggest 2026 is going to be a big year for the space RPG.

Starfield Rumor Claims Major Update Planned for 2026

According to Windows Central’s Jez Corden and content creator Luke Stephens, Starfield is planning a major update in 2026 that may even be comparable to Cyberpunk 2077‘s 2.0 patch. The pair have separately claimed that Bethesda recently held an event behind closed doors, showing select individuals (likely for journalists and content creators) what will be included in the update. While Stephens told fans they may want to “temper expectations,” he goes on to say that Bethesda reportedly does have a number of improvements that are specifically aimed at the most common complaints, such as loading screens. “You should not expect them to have magically changed what the game is,” Stephens warned fans.Jez Corden chimed in to say they are “hearing conflicting stuff” regarding the scale of the update. While some are seemingly suggesting the patch could be as big as Cyberpunk 2077‘s game-changing 2.0 update, others are warning the journalist not to expect too much. While discussing the conflicting reports, Stephens said, “Someone I spoke to who I would consider a pretty diehard fan of the base game said it’s a Cyberpunk 2.0 situation. Meanwhile another person who wasn’t particularly impressed with the base game said to temper expectations.”

There have long been rumors that Bethesda is also working on bringing Starfield to PlayStation 5. Currently, the RPG is only available for Xbox Series X/S and PC, but there have been tons of leaks that claim it will be the next Xbox exclusive to make the jump to PlayStation. Earlier this year, a report emerged that Starfield will come to PS5 in Spring 2026 alongside a second expansion and an update filled with quality-of-life improvements. The validity of this report seems all the more plausible after new rumors claim Bethesda is showing a major update behind closed doors. If both are true, it’s possible that an announcement surrounding a PS5 release, new DLC, and a major update could be made in the new year.