Starfield director hints at LGBT+ representation by saying players can ‘be who (they) want to be’

Jun 15 2021
Written by Ed Nightingale

Starfield. (Bethesda)

Starfield’s creator Todd Howard has said he wants players to feel like they can “be who [they] want to be” in the game.

In an interview with The Telegraph following the game’s reveal, Howard compared the game to another iconic Bethesda RPG, Skyrim.

“It’s kind of like Skyrim in terms of the structure of the game, where you’re going to be who you want to be, and then there’s different factions that you can join, and really carve your own path,” he says.

“And our hope is that each player feels like they could say, here’s who I want to be in this universe – and then we’re giving them an outlet to express that.”

Presumably that means there will be a diverse character creator for players to express themselves with, which would be progressive.

There’s also no indication on whether romances will be included in the game. Previous Bethesda titles like Skyrim and Fallout 4 have included same-sex romance options.

However, these options are more player-sexual, meaning the characters are just there to be romanced and don’t have a specific LGBT+ storyline. It would be great to see more representation in Starfield.

The much-anticipated game was finally revealed at the Xbox E3 showcase with a teaser trailer, though no gameplay has been shown meaning the internet is now rife with speculation.

Starfield is the first new series from Bethesda in 25 years, following The Elder Scrolls.

The teaser trailer consists of an unknown astronaut, part of Constellation, preparing to fly off into space. It contains various clues as to the plot of the game, though in the Telegraph interview Howard remains tight-lipped.

He did provide a little more insight into the story though: “Well, the game is set about 300 plus years in our own future. And Constellation is this kind of last group of space explorers. It’s like NASA meets Indiana Jones meets the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, a group of people that are still searching for answers. There are a lot of factions in the game but that’s the main one that you’ll become a part of.”

A release date for the game was also given: 11 November 2022.

Check out the trailer below.