“Well, should we have waited…”: It Took Todd Howard 1 Year to Realize the Real Reason Starfield: Shattered Space DLC Failed

While there are a few in the community who love Starfield‘s Shattered Space DLC, the general consensus on it has mostly been negative in terms of user and critic reviews.

The DLC takes players on a brand-new adventure to a mysterious planet featuring unique weapons and space suits. There are many reasons behind the DLC’s failures, and one of them was so troubling that it took Bethesda’s CEO Todd Howard one whole year to realize.

Todd Howard’s Theory Why Starfield Shattered Space DLC was a Flop

If you’ve forgotten, Bethesda gave us the REV-8 update for Starfield in August 2024 after a whole year of waiting. It was a massive step for the studio, which had never released a game on its infamous Creation engine with player-controlled vehicles.

It was truly an impressive feat that enhanced gameplay, but players couldn’t help but wonder why it wasn’t introduced in the base game.

While chatting with Game File, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer opened up about various topics and recalled one of his recent conversations with Todd Howard. While talking about the reaction to the criticism surrounding Shattered Space DLC, Howard questioned if Bethesda should’ve delayed buggies for the DLC instead.

Well, should we have waited to put buggies out?

Well, there’s no denying the fact that if Howard and his team saved the REV-8 for Shattered Space, it would’ve added to the DLC’s overall offerings. However, it’s highly unlikely that gamers would’ve been convinced with even this addition, as the DLC had many other core issues.

Bethesda made the right choice by releasing the vehicle as part of a free DLC rather than locking it behind a $30 expansion no one wants to bother experiencing.

Even though the DLC wasn’t Bethesda’s finest creation, the studio hasn’t given up on the title. It’s still bringing big updates for the game, fixing various bugs and glitches. What’s even surprising is that Howard and his team are already eyeing a sequel for the game.

Starfield 2 Might Happen Down the Line

If you’ve played any Bethesda game, you’re probably familiar with the name Bruce Nesmith. As a game designer, he played a massive role in all Elder Scroll games, as well as the Fallout series, including many projects. Even though he took an exit from the company in 2021, he still contributed to Bethesda’s space RPG.

In an interview, Nesmith stated that Starfield will prove to be a great template for a future RPG. According to him, the first few entries in any franchise tend to come with issues but show flashes of brilliance and eventually hit their stride later on. He believes it will be the same case for Starfield.

While Nesmith knows that fans have to deal with various issues in Starfield, he expects that the sequel will fix a lot of these things and bring a game that’ll revolutionize the genre. However, it’s crucial to keep in mind that the sequel for this IP is still years or decades away as Bethesda is currently developing The Elder Scrolls 6 and will head to the Fallout IP after that.

With that said, what do you think was the main issue in Shattered Space DLC? Let us know in the comments below.