As we have mentioned several times, most recently in the selection of September issues, Starfield will reach the vast majority of players next Wednesday, September 6th. It’s already possible, yes, to pre-install the Xbox Game Pass version so you can start playing it immediately, just as it’s released, but, and I’m speaking in the first person, the feeling of having it pre-installed on PC is like having a juicy chocolate cake in the fridge, but protected by an armored bulkhead that cannot be opened in any way.

Now players who decide to buy it before the official launch, next week, got the exclusive privilege of being able to enjoy it for a few hours between now and the official launch. Yes, this one only for special editions (Premium and Constellation), so those who purchased the basic version cannot enjoy this benefit either. In short, we’re talking about tremendously limited access, both in terms of users and the hours they can enjoy.

However, Starfield seems to be coming in with a lot of power and with the intention of reaching unimaginable numbers for the vast majority of games. So as we can see in SteamDB, barely an hour has passed since this early access started, Steam came to collect up to 234,502 concurrent users to the latest from Bethesda. A number which, considering the circumstances, is spectacular.

Let’s remember that Starfield is coming to two platforms, PC and Xbox, and for PC it can be purchased on both Steam and the Xbox store. So we have to consider that the numbers on Steam only reflect a portion of the players who will be enjoying early access to the game during these first hours. I understand that more players bought it on Steam due to the greater reach of Valve’s store, but we must not forget that Game Pass subscribers can get an upgrade to the premium mode with a 10% discount from its regular price. attracted many to purchase on the Microsoft platform.

And on the other hand, again, I focus on the fact that this early access is exclusively available to users who have purchased the premium versions, which we believe are fewer than those who have opted for the premium version. Standard. So we have the first indication of the sales volume that Starfield would achieve even before it goes on sale, and the truth is that doesn’t seem to be bad with Bethesda.

Undoubtedly the fact that the first evaluations issued by professional critics were generally quite positive, albeit with some other (understandable and always respectable) exception. As I said, the numbers that SteamDB shows us about the volume of concurrent users of the game are undoubtedly an indicator that the pre-sale phase must prove quite successfuland it’s likely we’ll see that number grow over the weekend, which will substantially amplify that initial perception.

And by the way, for Game Pass users who don’t want to wait until Wednesday of next week, Microsoft has an interesting option, which is pay to upgrade to the premium version, which you can enjoy for the duration of your subscription to the service. In addition to getting some extras, you will also become part of a large but select group of users who can explore Bethesda’s new proposal for just a few hours. Price? 31.49 euros, which everyone values ​​according to their priorities. Personally, while it seems like an interesting possibility, I think I’ll wait until next Wednesday.