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The good news is that we have finally found out the release date for Starfield is September 6th. The bad news for RPG fans (and possibly Larian Studios) is that this date places it exactly one week after the highly anticipated Baldur’s Gate 3 is due out on August 31st.
This leaves gamers in a dilemma: Can you complete a full-blown RPG Larian in a week? Of course, everyone plays at their own pace, but this time will obviously not be enough. Not even close.
This smoothly and easily leads to the next question: Do you really want to start a game the size of Baldur’s Gate and then delay it for the weeks or months that Starfield eats? Because – and again, let’s look at the situation honestly and without prejudice – do you really remember what the hell you were doing halfway through the second chapter of BG3 after spending several months in Starfield? After a long break, you will most likely start again.
Of course, Baldur’s Gate 3 isn’t the only problem. August will also see the release of Lies of P – no specific date yet, but the month has already been named – and the great retro RPG Sea of Stars. They may not be such a tough choice for most gamers given their more niche genre appeal, but the release time could be bad news for the games themselves: It’s safe to say that Starfield is going to be a juggernaut, with smaller games coming out around the same time, may be under attack.
While gamers want to play Starfield as early as possible, many feel that a November release would have been more appropriate.
It is possible that some studios will try to dodge this bullet through strategic delay. This won’t be unprecedented: In 2020, several planned releases, including Everspace 2, The Medium, MechWarrior 5, and even a major update for Path of Exile, were delayed to avoid Cyberpunk 2077. But it’s also a risk for developers. September is still six months away, which is enough time for everything to go awry.