Today, Bethesda revealed plans for the next era of Starfield, centered on the PS5 release, the upcoming Free Lanes update, and the Terran Armada DLC, each of which is set to drop on April 7, 2025.
The PlayStation 5 version of Starfield features every major update released to date, including quality-of-life improvements like clearer, more functional surface maps and the REV-8 land vehicle, which make planetary exploration smoother, as well as substantial feature additions introduced through free updates, such as Creations. It will also take advantage of the DualSense controller, featuring adaptive triggers that respond differently to specific weapons, light bars to indicate health, touchpad shortcuts for switching POVs and pulling up your map and hand scanner, and more.
There are multiple versions that are available for pre-order, detailed below alongside release times:
Starfield: Terran Armada is a premium story expansion that introduces a new threat and advanced military technology for $9.99 or free for anyone who got the Premium Edition.
The story follows a faction claiming to be the true children of Earth, comprising lost UC and Freestar members, that emerges with an advanced robotic army. Players will even get their very own Terran mechanical companion, Delta, a reprogrammed robot that is best described as morally grey.
Combat will feature new dynamic events where the Terran Armada assaults existing Settled Systems locations, with these forces even being capable of blocking grav drive jumps, forcing you to use Cruise Mode to reach and disable their jammers. You also get some new toys to combat the threat, as the DLC adds NASA-tactical grounded military gear and weapons, including a new multi-gun platform (MGP).
A big update for non-builders in the Starfield: Terran Armada DLC is the addition of pre-built outposts. There will now be fully decorated elevated cabin modules for you to drop on the planet of your choice, fully furnished with a bunch of new items, but you can also make whatever changes you want to the interior once it’s built.
Ship and output model additions include a new double-decker ship habs, a tactical cockpit, and a pre-built elevated cabin module for outposts.
The Starfield Free Lanes update will be the largest free expansion since launch, focusing on interplanetary exploration and deep-space gameplay. You can now fly freely between planets within a star system without fast-traveling, and you can leave the pilot’s seat to decorate your ship, use workbenches, or chat with crew, while an autopilot handles the journey in Cruise Mode.
A new high-end resource, X-Tech, allows for advanced gear and ship optimization, like Legendary Rerolls, new quality tiers, and tier 4 legendary effects. Weapons and armor can now reach Superior and Exceptional tiers, while the tier 4 effects add powerful ranks like Saboteur (chance to insta-kill robots) and Reckless (massive damage at the cost of health).
New Game+ improvements like the Quantum Entanglement Device and Power Upgrades let you store and carry up to 50 items for a new playthrough and rank up Starborn abilities directly without revisiting temples or starting a new cycle. There’s also plenty of new content, including the Anchorpoint starstation (new vendors and quests), the Moon Jumper land vehicle (high-verticality boost), Asteroid base homes, and the addition of Muria Siarkiewicz as an elite crewmember.
You can see a slew of other quality-of-life additions in the exploration and deep dive videos below:
- Many more planetary POIs: You’ll notice an increased variety in the types of planetary POIs as you explore.
- New side quests: There’s a number of people on Anchorpoint that could use your help. Talk to everyone.
- Colony War Action Heroes: There are 27 Colony War Action Hero collectibles for you to track down. Each one gives a stat buff (with different buffs for opened and unopened versions) and will look great decorating your outpost in the new outpost display cases.
Starfield is currently available on Xbox Series X|S and PC, starting at $69.99, with additional DLC, like Shattered Space, available for a seperate charge.
