Most of the hardcore Bethesda RPG fans who’ve invested thousands of hours into Skyrim and Fallout 4 can't wait for the release of Starfield, which is set for September 6.
These would-be interstellar explorers got plenty of fresh answers regarding what to expect from their trip to space at this month’s Starfield Direct, which featured everything from some potential peeks at Earth, to surprisingly valuable sandwiches and even a ship with a rage quit button.
While some have since had their heads in the stars trying to work out the scales of planets or predict how their encounters with the Adoring Fan might go, a now-deleted tweet from Bethesda support regarding the game’s physical editions has recently dragged their thoughts back down to Earth.
Are you hoping to play Starfield via a physical copy with a disc?
As spotted by Twitter user Wario64 (thanks, Gamesradar), a since-deleted tweet from Bethesda Support, which came in response to a fan asking whether the physical version of the game’s standard edition for Xbox Series X would include a disc, responded that “all physical editions [of the game] include a code for the chosen platform,” adding “there are no physical discs”.
Naturally, the tweet and its subsequent disappearance have left fans confused, with some declaring their displeasure at the decision, such as Twitter user @CoreyHikari, who posted: “If this is true, I’m cancelling my pre-order of the standard edition [and] premium upgrade. The entire reason I’m buying the game is for the physical copy, if they only want my Game Pass money, so be it I guess.”
Meanwhile, others have decided to wait for further clarification from Bethesda before passing judgement, with moderator Cyrus224 arguing in a thread on r/starfield about the issue: “The tweets [about] this have been deleted, and [it] was likely a mistake by the staff member who posted it. Although we don't know all the details, [it] is best to treat this as a false statement until they further clarify [things].”
That said, the waters have been muddied even further by the subsequent discovery of some other tweets from official Bethesda accounts on the subject, which are still live as of writing. The first is from the same support account as the deleted tweet and doesn’t mention discs, but insists: “All editions, both digital and physical, come with a code.”
There’s also a tweet from Bethesda Español, which, when translated via Google, claims that physical copies of the standard edition will come with a disc, while “the Constellation Edition has a code engraved on a collector's item.”
Update: Bethesda Support has now put out a tweet confirming that the physical standard edition of the game for Xbox consoles will include a disc, while the same edition for PC will include a code. Somewhat surprisingly, the physical versions of both the Premium Edition and Constellation Edition of the game, no matter which platform you buy them on, only come with codes.
Regardless of which edition of Starfield you’re planning on picking up, make sure to follow us for lots of guides to its world and mechanics.
You can also check out our latest mods of the month for some killer Skyrim and Fallout mods that’ll help tide you over until release.