Todd Howard reveals only 10% of Starfield’s planets actually “have life on them”

Bethesda boss Todd Howard has confirmed that of all the planets gamers will be able to explore in Starfield, only 10% of them will actually show signs of life.

Starfield is shaping up to be the biggest Xbox release of this generation. After years of very little in terms of exclusive titles, the Big Green Machine is all but putting all its eggs in one basket when it comes to Starfield.

The giant space-focused game, developed by Bethesda, is set to offer major exploration, customization, and more to players looking to get lost in a rich sci-fi experience. However, it appears that not all the planets gamers encounter will be as full of life as was initially anticipated. 

In a recent interview on Kinda Funny Xcast, Bethesda boss Todd Howard revealed that, of all the planets players can discover and explore in Starfield, roughly only 10% of them will have signs of life.

Howard began the conversation by stating, “There’s no way we’re going to go and handcraft an entire planet,” before then going into further detail about the planets and what players will be able to explore and encounter on each.

The Bethesda boss explained that instead, the game will have “individual locations, and some of those are placed specifically…and then we have a suite of them that are generated or placed when you land depending on that planet”.  

Only 10% of Starfield planets will have life on them says Todd Howard

Howard then added that, “We’re pushing [science]…about 10% of those planets have life on them. We’re pushing it to the edge of what do people think, what planets are in that Goldilocks Zone versus planets that have resources?”

Time will tell if this new figure will impact player excitement for the game and if it will end up limiting the amount of exploration that gamers are offered throughout Starfield.

For all the latest news and updates on all things Starfield, be sure to check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.