Summary
Starfieldhas officially released its biggest update yet, bringing notable improvements to the game’s textures, lighting, and shadows, while also providing fixes to major issues such as save game corruption and asteroid pets. Though players anxiously await the release of Shattered Space and the Creation Kit, Bethesda’s efforts to address the major technical issues ofStarfieldare the first step in its 2024 roadmap.
TheStarfieldupdate entered beta testing on Steam on July 30, 2025, and its slate of fixes are now available to players across PC, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X. ThoughStarfieldis Bethesda’s lowest rated title on Steam, the consensus among fans is that the game has plenty of untapped potential. Players enjoyed its gunplay and ship builder mechanics, though many were hoping for an open world experience that relied less on procedural generation and more on handcrafted content that defined earlier Bethesda games.
Bethesda shared the final patch notes forStarfieldUpdate 1.9.51.0 across social media, with many notable highlights to be found among its list of fixes and improvements. Notably, players no longer need to worry about their character’s eyes remaining closed in third person view, and the Phased Time power bug thatoccurred duringStarfield’s New Game Plusshould also be fixed. While amusing at first, many fans were annoyed by the persistentStarfieldbug of asteroids following their ship around through space, and the latest update claims to have found another fix for it.
The newStarfieldupdate also brings improved shadows on characters, better water reflection, and addresses various artifact issues found throughout the game. Given how much players enjoycreating their character inStarfield, having more accurate lighting during the character creation menu is also a significant plus.
While this patch may not address the complaints thatStarfieldplayers have had about its gameplay, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. It remains to be seenwhat Shattered Space will bring toStarfield, but fans are hopeful that it will offer a more rewarding experience in exploring the worlds of the Settled Systems. Given that over 250 employees are still assigned toStarfield, Bethesda’s scope for the game’s post-launch support appears to be ambitious. Furthermore, the developers promised a regular patch cadence, which means that players should expect to hear more about the teased “alternate way of travel” in the weeks to come.
