Starfield wouldn't be releasing in September if it also had to launch on PlayStation 5, according to Pete Hines, Bethesda's head of global publishing.

Hines, who was speaking under oath as part of a hearing in which the Federal Trade Commission is seeking an injunction against Microsoft's planned Activision Blizzard acquisition, called Starfield's Xbox console exclusivity a good thing.

He quoted Starfield game director Todd Howard in calling the upcoming sci-fi RPG an "irresponsibly large" game, one that was made a Xbox console-exclusive in order to reduce the workload for developer Bethesda Game Studios. Shipping on Xbox Series X|S and PC and not PS5 meant the studio needed less quality assurance testing and created less work for the developer. As a result, Starfield is releasing on September 6 (or on September 1 for certain editions), having been delayed from its original November 2022 release date.