Todd Howard Addresses Negative Starfield Reviews

Todd Howard Addresses Negative Starfield Reviews

• Starfield's new Trackers Alliance questline has sparked backlash for requiring players to purchase subsequent quests as Creation mods.
• The paywalling of the Trackers Alliance questline by Bethesda has led to a new wave of criticism towards the game and the studio.
• Todd Howard addressed the paid mod backlash, stating that they will look into changing pricing and how content like the questline is delivered.

Another wave of Steam backlash has hit Starfield after developer Bethesda Game Studios released its new Trackers Alliance questline, which asks players to purchase subsequent quests as Creation mods. Starfield's upcoming Shattered Space DLC finally received a reveal trailer at Xbox's recent games showcase, which confirmed it'll focus on one of the space RPG's darker factions, House Va'ruun.

Attached to the Shattered Space trailer was the reveal of a new questline centered around another Starfield faction, the Trackers Alliance. While not a dedicated faction questline like the UC Vanguard or the Freestar Collective, this new series of missions begins with the Starjacker quest, which players are able to start for free. The catch is that in order to continue with the questline after completing Starjacker, players are forced to purchase the second quest, The Vulture, for $7 from the Creations menu, as it's been implemented by Bethesda as a mod. The paywalling of this Bethesda-made Trackers Alliance questline has led to a new wave of criticism towards Starfield and Bethesda Game Studios on Steam, with the RPG's reviews dipping down into "Mostly Negative" territory.

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Todd Howard, Starfield's director, addressed the Trackers Alliance questline and larger paid mod backlash during a recent interview with MrMattyPlays. In it, Howard explained that Starfield's Trackers Alliance questline was an attempt to go the extra mile for players by giving them special in-game gear and rewards embedded within a new questline. He went on to ease players' worries about paid Creation Club mods, saying "...that's not what we want at all in terms of, oh no, this looks like a faction that we're chopping up and then selling for 700 credits at a time. And so I do think we are going to take a look at that and how we deliver content like that, and whether we're changing pricing or breaking it up or what we should do there."

Todd Howard Responds To Trackers Alliance Mod Quest Criticism

It seems that most Starfield players are taking issue with the fact that Bethesda is monetizing its own official Trackers Alliance quest mods. Many would agree that since players already had to purchase Starfield, they shouldn't have to pay for Bethesda's self-made mods. The fact that Bethesda is offering the first Trackers Alliance quest for free, attempting to upsell fans into having to pay for mods to continue is surely rubbing salt on the wound for fans. Howard mentions that some dedicated modders have taken their craft beyond that of a hobby and are becoming something like professionals within the Starfield community, adding that it's important that Bethesda ensures they're paid well for their work.

I do think we are going to take a look at that and how we deliver content like that, and whether we're changing pricing or breaking it up or what we should do there.

Howard didn't mention if or when changes to Creation Kit monetization would take hold. While Starfield's Shattered Space DLC has yet to receive a release date, Todd Howard did confirm that more major DLC expansions are planned for Starfield beyond Shattered Space.

Starfield

Platform(s) Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PCReleased September 6, 2023Developer(s) BethesdaPublisher(s) BethesdaGenre(s) Action, RPG