Starfield’s PS5 Launch Struggles to Take Off as Sales and Performance Raise Concerns

It’s been about a week since Starfield finally landed on PlayStation 5, and if you’ve been following the launch closely, you’ve probably already seen that things haven’t gone as smoothly as many had hoped. It’s difficult to ignore the fact that many players are facing problems with the game on PS5 at the moment, such as crashes and various other technical issues that make it frustrating.

For some, it’s gone beyond a minor annoyance; many people say the game is on the verge of being unplayable at the moment. As a result, you’re seeing a noticeable number of players either asking for refunds or deciding to wait until the game is properly fixed before jumping in. What makes the situation even worse is that these reports seem very common. Similar complaints have also appeared on social media and forums. 

This PS5 release came on April 7th, 2025, roughly 2.5 years after the game launched on Xbox. That delay traces back to Microsoft’s acquisition of ZeniMax and Bethesda, which made Starfield an Xbox-exclusive for a period. Now that the exclusivity period has ended, the game has finally been released on PlayStation, but you're witnessing firsthand how the lengthy gap may have impacted both interest and momentum.

Beyond the technical difficulties, you’re also getting a clearer picture of how Starfield is performing commercially on PS5. According to reported figures from the Elinia Insight newsletter, the game has sold around 140,000 copies on the platform during its first week. If you look at that number in isolation, it might not seem bad at all. That kind of launch would be considered solid for many games, especially ports. 

When you consider the scale of Starfield and the resources behind it, it becomes easier to understand why those numbers feel underwhelming.

The analysis suggests that one of the biggest factors working against the PS5 version is timing. By the time the game arrived on PlayStation, the initial excitement had already faded. You’re looking at a release that came years after the original launch, at a point where the broader conversation around the game had already cooled down significantly.

That drop in hype is closely tied to how the game was received in the first place. Compared to Bethesda’s earlier single-player titles like Fallout 4 or The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Starfield didn’t land with the same level of praise. While it wasn’t a complete disaster, the reception leaned more toward mixed than overwhelmingly positive.

You can see how that kind of response affects long-term interest, especially when a delayed platform release is relying on that same early momentum to drive sales. Even with new content updates arriving alongside the PS5 version, including the “Free Lanes” update and the “Tan Armada” DLC, the boost in player activity hasn’t been as strong as you might expect.

There has been an increase, but it’s not very significant, especially when you take a look at the game’s earlier peak numbers. In fact, you’re now in a situation where older Bethesda titles are still outperforming Starfield in terms of player engagement. It says a lot when a game like Skyrim, which has been around for years, can still reach higher player peaks than a newer release that just received fresh content.

At the same time, you’re also seeing how this situation ties into broader industry decisions.

There have been reports suggesting that PlayStation may be rethinking its approach to PC ports for major single-player titles. The idea is that releasing these games too widely or too late might reduce the perceived value of the console itself, while also failing to generate enough additional revenue to justify the cost of porting.

When you look at Starfield’s performance, it becomes clear why companies are paying closer attention to how timing and platform strategy impact overall success. On the financial side, Starfield has still managed to bring in significant revenue, particularly on PC.

Recent data indicates that the latest update and DLC helped sell an additional 55,000 copies on Steam within a week, generating roughly $2.3 million at a $50 price point. That pushed the game’s total Steam revenue past $200 million, and when you combine that with earnings from other platforms, the total revenue has exceeded $300 million.

On paper, that might sound like a major success. But when you factor in the realities of modern AAA game development, the picture changes. You’re dealing with a project that reportedly took close to a decade to develop, with a budget that likely sits in the hundreds of millions. In that context, $300 million doesn’t necessarily mean strong profits. In fact, it may only mean the game has just about broken even.

That’s where you start to see the bigger issue. The current AAA model has reached a point where even large-scale releases need massive sales just to be considered profitable. Starfield reportedly sold around 3.7 million copies on Steam before the PS5 version even launched, putting it close to 4 million copies overall. Yet even that level of success may not be enough to generate the kind of returns publishers expect.

There’s also the question of internal expectations.

Bethesda Game Studios has a history of making games that sell tens of millions of copies over time, so it’s likely that Starfield was expected to do the same. What probably wasn’t fully expected was how mixed the reviews would be. Many players have said the game offers plenty to do but not much depth, especially when it comes to exploration.

You don’t get the smooth, immersive worlds that Bethesda is renowned for. Instead, you often have to move through separate areas with loading screens and procedurally generated content that doesn’t always feel important. That shift in design has played a big role in how players perceive the game. The sense of discovery that defined earlier Bethesda titles feels less present, and that has contributed to a faster drop-off in interest.

Consequently, the long-term sales trajectory has not met the initial expectations. There are already signs that other games coming out soon could do better than Starfield in a much shorter period of time. Some figures suggest Crimson Desert could beat Starfield’s lifetime sales in just one year, showing how much things have changed.

When you look at the big picture, it’s clear that a number of things have come together to make Starfield’s situation what it is. The PS5’s late release, the mixed reviews, players' varied expectations, and the high costs of making AAA games have all had an effect. If the game had launched on all platforms at once, when excitement was at its peak, the result might have been very different.

For now, you have a game that isn’t a complete failure, but it also isn’t the huge hit that everyone thought it would be. It has made a lot of money, but not enough to be clearly seen as a big win given its size. Starfield is a good example of how timing, perception, and industry trends can impact even the most anticipated releases.