The physical edition of is just a box with a download code in it, but there’s confusion as to whether has already backtracked.
Given how every single big name game manages to it’s no surprise to find publishers trying to fast forward to the point where games are only released digitally.
That seems to be exactly what Bethesda is doing with Starfield, although the backlash against the idea may already have caused them to think twice, with confusion as to what exactly is going on.
It started with a tweet in which a fan asked whether a disc was included in the standard physical edition, to which the answer from the Bethesda Support account was: ‘All physical editions include a code for the chosen platform. There are no physical discs.’
That seems pretty unambiguous and yet once other fans noticed, and it became a talking point, the tweet was suddenly deleted – although it’s unclear what exactly that implies.
If that was because the information was incorrect you would’ve thought they’d just say that but deleting the tweet seems to imply they’re either not sure or simply wanted to avoid controversy.
We’ve asked Bethesda for an official comment but so far they don’t seem to have provided one to anyone, although a tweet from the official account in Spain suggests that the standard version does have a disc – but not the .
The Spanish tweet was two weeks ago though, so again it’s unclear whether the latest tweet represents a change in policy – or whether Bethesda is going backwards and forwards on the issue.
As the launch of the Xbox One attests, Microsoft has always been keen on the idea of digital-only gaming but whether this is a policy from them or solely Bethesda’s idea is unclear.
It does seem inevitable that all major publishers will go digital-only eventually, but whether this is the start of that process or just a misunderstanding – or Bethesda getting cold feet – remains to be seen.
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