According to Wccftech, rumors are swirling about a potential “Cyberpunk 2077 2.0 style” overhaul for Bethesda’s Starfield, potentially launching in 2026 alongside ports for PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch 2. The information comes from a mix of content creators and journalists, including Windows Central’s Jez Corden, who attended a recent Bethesda event. Key improvements reportedly target the game’s most common complaints, like excessive loading screens, aiming to make space flight feel more seamless. However, other insiders, like Luke Stephens, are more conservative, suggesting the update won’t be as transformative as CD Projekt Red’s legendary comeback. The fate of these updates is tied to the game’s future, as this is rumored to be the final major content push before Bethesda fully shifts focus to The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout projects.
The Rumor Mill Is Churning
Here’s the thing about Starfield: it launched, made a big splash, and then the water got real calm, real fast. Now, a year and a half later, we’re getting these conflicting whispers from people who’ve supposedly seen the roadmap. On one side, you have folks saying it’s a ground-up, game-saving redemption arc. On the other, you have more measured takes saying, “Look, they’re fixing the load screens and some other stuff, but don’t expect a miracle.” It’s classic gaming rumor season. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle. Bethesda knows the game needs work, and a “2.0” label is a powerful marketing tool—just ask Cyberpunk. But can their famously creaky Creation Engine really deliver that kind of seamless experience? I have my doubts.
A Business Play, Not Just a Patch
Let’s be real. This isn’t just about making fans happy. It’s a calculated business strategy. Re-releasing a massively updated “Game of the Year” or “Definitive Edition” on new platforms—PS5 and the hypothetical Switch 2—is a way to squeeze fresh revenue from a title whose initial sales momentum is long gone. It’s a second launch window. If they can genuinely fix the core complaints and package it with the Shattered Space DLC, they can market it as a complete, polished product to a whole new audience who wrote it off at launch. The timing in 2026 is key. It gives them distance from the launch disappointment and positions the update as a major event, not just another patch. The real beneficiaries? Bethesda’s bottom line and, hopefully, players who wanted to love the game but couldn’t.
The Stakes For Bethesda
This is bigger than one game. Bethesda’s reputation for releasing buggy, technically dated games that rely on modders to fix them has worn thin. Starfield was supposed to be their shiny new IP for a new generation. Instead, it highlighted all their old weaknesses in a new, emptier universe. So this rumored update is a test. Can they actually support and radically improve a live game post-launch? Or will it be the usual suite of minor fixes? If they pull off a true revival, it rebuilds crucial trust before they ask players to buy into the next decade of Elder Scrolls and Fallout. If it flops? Well, then the rumor about this being Starfield’s final send-off before the studio moves on for good seems all too plausible. They’re stretched thin as it is.
Should You Actually Care?
If you bounced off Starfield hard, should these rumors bring you back? Maybe. But I’d keep expectations in check. Watch the actual patch notes and player impressions, not the hype. A few less loading screens and some better space mechanics won’t magically fill those barren planets with interesting content. That’s a fundamental design issue. The more conservative take from Luke Stephens feels closer to Bethesda’s historical reality than the grand “2.0” promise. Still, the fact that they’re even attempting a significant re-launch shows they know they have a problem. In the end, Bethesda isn’t just trying to update Starfield. They’re trying to update player faith. And that’s a much harder patch to ship.
