Starfield comparison shows downgrade compared to 2022 beta while improving lighting

An early comparison video of Starfield, comparing the 2022 demo to the 2023 demo, was released last week from the Xbox Showcase.

Last week, Xbox and Bethesda released an extended dive into the upcoming Starfield that shows off the game’s combat, exploration, and diverse worlds. Last year, Microsoft and Bethesda released the first trailer for the game, and YouTuber ‘Cycu1’ Released now Comparison video of the two gameplay videos. With this early comparison, it’s clear that Bethesda has worked to greatly improve the game’s lighting, environments, and overall atmosphere over last year, but the level of detail on characters seems to have been lowered. This low level of detail is particularly noticeable in the facial hair and eyes.

Check out the comparison video below and judge for yourself.

As confirmed last week, Starfield will run at 30fps on both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. According to the head of Xbox, Phil Spencer, this is a technical choice from the development team. “It’s a creative choice,” Spencer said in an interview with GiantBomb. “Obviously we have games that run at 4K/60 on the platform. It’s not a platform issue, it’s a creative decision.”

On Xbox Series X, the game will run at 4K while the Xbox Series S version will run at 1440p. However, interestingly, digital website Eurogamer suggested that the game’s native resolution is relatively low on the Series X with an internal resolution of around 1296p which has been temporarily upgraded to 4K.

For those on PC who want to see if they can play Starfield – be sure to check out the game’s minimum and recommended PC requirements here.

Starfield launches globally on September 6th for Xbox Series X | S and PC. According to Microsoft and Bethesda, the game will start with fewer errors than any other game from Bethesda.

“We have a huge number of people playing Starfield internally.” Xbox’s Matt Botti said last week. Working with Todd and the team, I see the number of bugs, and just by the numbers if it shipped today, Starfield would really have the fewest bugs of any game Bethesda has ever shipped. Also, I think about Skyrim and where that community still ends up ten years later, You start to think about the other things they’ve done with the game. I think there’s a potential that will open up in the game over time as people figure everything out.”