Starfield might not have been everyone’s cup of tea, but Bethesda Game Studios’ latest was the studio’s biggest launch ever and welcomed 15 million players a little over a year since its September 6, 2023, launch. By all accounts, it was a success even if its cultural impact hasn’t reached Skyrim or Fallout 4’s heights.
Now, Xbox and Bethesda are hoping to reinvigorate its multi-year plan (which we’re told hasn’t changed) with the massive Free Lanes update, the Terran Armada story DLC, and the long-rumoured PS5 port. It’s all coming on April 7, and we had the chance to see it in action last week. This is what we learned.
This update is part of a wider rollout including new story content and a PS5 release — check out our Starfield April 2026 update hub for a full breakdown.
Lead creative producer Tim Lamb guided the extensive gameplay demo and later answered some questions. Overall, Starfield is about to become its most “complete version” yet, with the most substantial changes being added at no extra cost, and while I was impressed by the work BGS has been quietly putting into the game since late 2024’s Shattered Space expansion, none of it feels like Bethesda pulling a “2.0 moment” for Starfield à la Cyberpunk 2077. In fact, Lamb (much like Todd Howard) shot that idea down during the preview event.
Neither Free Lanes nor Terran Armada are meant to make a believer out of anyone, but if you were on the fence or hoping for a deeper RPG and space exploration experience, they keep pushing the game in the right direction (or so it seems).
The new element which will get people talking the most is the addition of “seamless” cruise mode travel between planets and celestial bodies within a star system. Whereas descending on and “exiting” them (as well as jumping from one system to another) will still happen through load screens, players can now travel between the bodies (and around them) at different speeds. It all makes for some stunning space vistas and better exploration with your ship and crew, including downtime while en route, but the new system also adds an extra layer of unpredictability.
Before the Free Lanes update, space encounters (friendly or hostile) all happened around celestial bodies and space stations. Now, “radiant events” (this will be familiar to longtime BGS fans) might interrupt cruise travel or offer new optional opportunities. Like the regular planetary surface experience outside the handcrafted areas, Starfield’s outer space is now filled with random events and danger, and even if the devs’ efforts on that front still fall short of expectations (we don’t know how much variety the system actually packs), it feels like a given modders are getting a whole a new playground to jump into and tinker with.
At least one more handcrafted space station will also be part of the update, though its location wasn’t shared by Lamb, who wants to preserve some of the mystery. We did, however, get a brief tease of what we can expect from points of interest on planets and moons: New encounters, outposts, dungeons, and whatnot will be added to the mix of procedural generation. It’s a similar approach to what No Man’s Sky has been doing for years, and we expect BGS to continue adding to the pool over time.
The big excuse to spend more time exploring the improved Settled Systems is a new material called X-Tech, which allows players to upgrade weapons, ship modules, and equipment beyond their previous limits. It’s not just about raising the previous level caps and stats for a better endgame power fantasy (especially when doing NG+ loops); they also offer a great deal of build customisation through all-new abilities, actives, and passives. Moreover, weapons and armours/suits can go beyond the Legendary level with unique modifiers which can be re-rolled and fine-tuned… as long as you have enough X-Tech, which will show up at random and mostly be rewarded by high-risk POIs and encounters.
For example, we saw a regular Grendel rifle quickly get its stats boosted up to and past the Legendary cap, with Lamb later adding a number of game-shaking modifiers and perks (on top of the regular attachments) since he had plenty of X-Tech to play with in the demo. The result? An SMG-like rifle with little-to-no recoil, extended mags that could randomly become even bigger, and explosive ammo that sent everything not attached to the ground flying. It’s glorious chaos, and it seems the goal is let players go truly crazy when they’re powerful and resourceful enough.
For ships, stores, and hangars will let players boost their stats past previous limits as well, and then there’s a bunch of new “pieces” that add powerful abilities like cloaking. Again, it was clear that the focus of the Free Lanes update is on player choice and big reasons to come back to Starfield.
The power fantasy won’t stop there, with the Starborn powers also seeing improvements. A big change is that upgrade points can now be farmed without visiting temples, meaning you can stick around in a loop for longer (or indefinitely) without sacrificing the growth of your reality-altering powers. Specifics weren’t shared, but it seems we’ll be encountering more Starborn NPCs we can just murder to become stronger. This, combined with the (optional) enemy modifiers that can randomly boost the stronger foes, should elevate the challenge level for those who want more bite from the game without installing mods. Plus, on the matter of the Starborn loop and great items that you want to preserve: There’s a lore-friendly option to “transport” them to the next run too.
The “settler layer” of the game isn’t being left behind. Quality-of-life changes like shared outpost storage across all bases, new buildables (including a nifty one-piece building that feels really cosy), and even pets make the colonisation of new worlds more rewarding and smoother. And to make traversing difficult terrain a bit easier, the Moon Jumper vehicle (which can be randomly found in outposts and enemy bases) offers a convincing alternative to the previously added jeep; it can boost and “fly” more than you’d expect at first.
Last but not least, Free Lanes will also add two new recruitable partners you can take anywhere: fan-favourite Muria (Lamb underlined she’s been requested since the game came out) and a little Star Wars-inspired mini-bot with a chirpy attitude. Considering the attention paid to ships and outposts in this update, it made sense to offer new crew members as well.
Everything I’ve described up to this point is free content coming to all platforms, including PS5, and players on April 7. On top of all that, the paid Trackers Alliance creation (which is 700 credits) is getting “new targets, contracts, and rewards.” As an extra not-DLC for those who wanted to roleplay a bounty hunter, it always seemed like good enough value, but the new update will make it more substantial, so that’s cool. For previous owners of the creation, it’s a free update too.
Perhaps the biggest shocker is that Lamb described the new (paid) story DLC, Terran Armada, as a “short one.” It’s gonna sell for only $10, which suggests it’s indeed shorter than Shattered Space, but players might also remember that DLC was sold for $30, which made its reception worse than it’d have been with a more realistic price tag. And despite not being included in the official description, owners of Starfield’s Premium Edition will get Terran Armada “at no additional cost” when it releases.
Its plot, locations, characters, and whatnot are largely kept a secret beyond the short teaser and gameplay clip we got to see, but it doesn’t seem to substantially alter or add to what the rest of the game offers. It does, however, introduce an interesting new threat in the Terran Armada and its robotic army; a resourceful faction which doesn’t vibe with what humankind has built across the Settled Systems.
The following Q&A yielded no major answers to burning questions, mostly because BGS answered most of them with the extensive gameplay preview alone. It’s important to note, however, modding on PS5 wasn’t confirmed when I asked (though there’s no reason to skip it), so I guess we’ll have to wait and see. What we did learn about the PS5 port is that PS5 Pro will get unique enhancements through Pro Performance/Quality modes (specs to be revealed) and that DualSense-specific features like dynamic lightbar use, adaptive triggers, touchpad, and even in-game sounds through the controller’s mic are in, so this doesn’t appear to be a rush job.
In conclusion, I don’t see any of these additions or reworks pushing naysayers to suddenly come around Starfield; it’s a very different beast from past Bethesda RPGs, and its setting isn’t as charming as TES or Fallout’s. That said, I believe BGS has made the right moves in trying to please players who are actually willing to engage with the game and need reasons to fall in love with it. This all combines into a major step in the right direction, and with Lamb teasing Bethesda isn’t done with the Settled Systems yet, who can say where the game will be in a few years’ time.
Starfield’s base edition will be available on all platforms (PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5) for $49.99 moving forward. It’s on Game Pass (Ultimate, Premium, and PC) as well.
Related Starfield Content on Game Watcher:
- Starfield April 2026 Update Hub
- Starfield Terran Armada Release Date
- PlayStation 5 Release Date
- The Best Starfield Mods
- Starfield Console Commands and Cheats
- Starfield Romance Options
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