“As a game dev, your one true goal is for fans to play and love your game”
Starfield has over 12 million players three months after its release, and the game’s lead designer and writer Emil Pagliarulo is “pretty happy” about it.
On Twitter, the veteran Bethesda developer expressed his surprise at Starfield’s large player base. “I mean, as a game dev, your one true goal is for fans to play and love your game,” writes Pagliarulo. “12 million fans? Hard not to feel pretty great about that.”
Responding to a comment that players do not always equate to fans, Pagliarulo posted a follow-up tweet to clarify that he is well aware that 12 million people did not enjoy the game. “And yeah, yeah, not all 12 million players are fans,” he added. “I know. 12 million players, that’s what I meant. Don’t get your tighty whities in a bunch.”
Many fans were eager to express their admiration for the epic space-based RPG in the comments section. “You and your team should be proud of what you released. Starfield is an amazing story and sandbox that gamers (and fans!) will spend years in,” one wrote. “It’s the best game I’ve played in years. Congratulations on a huge success,” another responded with.
Phil Spencer, the CEO of Microsoft, is a big fan. “Starfield has been awesome,” he said when confirming that the game had 12 million players, adding that he knew it was going to be a “pretty special game” from the start. Spencer also hopes that Bethesda’s latest offering will be a 12-year hit, similar to Skyrim, which has sold over 60 million copies since its release in 2011.