Shattered Space will be like Far Harbor, Todd Howard interview
Shattered Space will take place on one bespoke planet, and won't feature as much procedural generation as the base game.
It seems Bethesda is ditching the procedural generation approach when it comes to Starfield Shattered Space, with a Todd Howard interview comparing the upcoming expansion directly to Fallout 4’s Far Harbor DLC, and outlining plans for future content.
For many, the base game of Starfield was a brilliant game but for two glaring issues: the overreliance on procedural generation, and the sheer number of loading screens. While loading screens remain an issue for some, Howard has confirmed that Starfield Shattered Space is a more handcrafted experience, featuring a singular location and bespoke landscape dotted with quests and NPCs.
“Once you get to the city and the planet, it takes place there. It allows us to build a landscape like we would traditionally do and have the city and the quests and so. That story takes place there and the landscape’s kind of, you know, content-wise we’re looking at what we do with Far Harbor on Fallout 4.”
Sadly, Howard did not go on to elaborate on any additional content in the upcoming DLC release during the MrMattyPlays interview, nor did he give a timescale on when the teased Starfield vehicles would be released.
However, comparing Starfield Shattered Space to Far Harbor could indicate several upcoming additions:
- A new companion – like Fallout 4’s Old Longfellow
- A branching questline
- New weapons
- New armor
- New legendary effects
- New items
- New monsters/aliens
- New outpost items
How much of this will materialize in Shattered Space remains to be seen, though all of the above seem likely additions given previous Bethesda DLC releases.
While Howard didn’t elaborate on Shattered Space specifics, Howard did go on to confirm that Shattered Space will not be the one and only major DLC package for Starfield. “We’re planning for the one after this, so there will be another one.”
However, Howard also mentioned that, unlike with previous games, Starfield’s expansions will have a more annular release, rather than being separated by a few months. As such, the second Starfield DLC won’t be seen until 2025 at the earliest (assuming Bethesda don’t release smaller DLC packs between story expansions).
Giving more time to each DLC release feels like the right call to make, especially given Bethesda’s commitment to regular updates, bugfixes, and a renewed dedication to the Creations store. Already the Creations store is filled with Starfield mods, both free and paid-for, and Bethesda has hinted that it will release more in-house mods in the future.
What these mods could be, who can say? But for now, we can only wait to see if the Starfield mod Renaissance is upon us, and how well Starfield Shattered Space performs this autumn. Be sure to check out the full MrMattyPlays interview below for everything on Starfield, the Fallout series, and the Elder Scrolls 6.
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