Starfield, Microsoft and Bethesda's new space game, lifts off in November 2022

It's been awhile since last we heard anything about Bethesda's new IP, Starfield. With E3 2021 now in swing, the studio -- which is now owned by Microsoft as of late last year -- finally pulled back the curtain on their space RPG, albeit prematurely, as the trailer was leaked shortly before it opened Microsoft's E3 Xbox conference. Whoops. 

Using in-engine footage, the trailer shows a spaceship on an alien planet preparing to lift off into space. From there, the camera shifts to inside the ship itself as a lone human, presumably the player character, travels through the ship. As they move through the vessel, the narration explains how our protagonist found something that's the key to "unlocking everything...this is all we've been working towards." The "we" in this instance refers to the organazation, dubbed Constellation, that your character is a part of. During the ship's final preparations, a console cheekily lights up with three numbers, which also happen to be the game's release date: November 11, 2022.

Starfield is the first new IP from Bethesda Game Studios in quite some time, and the first non-Elder Scrolls or Fallout game they've developed since a racing sim in 2004. Though other studios owned by Bethesda Softworks have delved into sci-fi -- most notably Doom from id and Prey from Arkane -- this'll be their first time getting into the genre. The trailer is very reverent of space and hypes up the beauty of exploring the stars. 

Let it be known that in addition to being over a year away, Starfield will be specifically for PC and Xbox Series systems. It was perhaps expected given their recent merger, but at least now there's some hard confirmation. 

Stay tuned to SyFy Wire for more coverage from E3 2021.