Summary
When the Shattered Space expansion forStarfieldreleases on July 22, 2025, it will represent Bethesda’s biggest effort yet at reigniting interest in its ambitious sci-fi RPG. Promising players exotic new locales to explore and a storyline focused on uncovering the mysteries surrounding the game’s secretive House Va’Ruun, Shattered Space looks set to be an action-packed add-on to the base game. While this deep dive intoStarfieldlore is sure to be welcomed by fans of its unique sci-fi universe, Bethesda should also use Shattered Space and future expansions to expand on the game’s most engaging mechanic by doubling down on shipbuilding.
Receiving praise even from some who found the overall game to be an underwhelming experience,Starfield’s shipbuilding mechanicwas cited by many players as the best feature of Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG. Flexible enough to allow for the creation of everything from sleek starfighters to decidedly more comedic contraptions,Starfield’s powerful ship editor lets players design the spaceship of their dreams. Bethesda needs to lean into this innovative and entertaining feature in the Shattered Space expansion and beyond by not only providing players with new parts to pick from, but also integrating shipbuilding more tightly into the overall gameplay.
Future DLC Should Bring New Customization Options to Starfield’s Shipbuilding
When it comes to customization options for shipbuilding inStarfield, the base game already provides players with plenty of choice. Offering a selection of hundreds of parts from multiple manufacturers, the powerful yet straightforward ship editor gives gamers the ability to customize their craft in almost any way they see fit.FutureStarfieldDLCshould continue to build on this already substantial selection of customization options, adding new ships, parts, and manufacturers into the mix with each new release.
These new additions toStarfield’s shipbuilder should run the gamut, from purely aesthetic add-ons to new performance parts meant to please players looking to create the most effective and efficient build possible. This would incentivize those who enjoyed the base game’s customization mechanics to pick up future DLC releases, likely leading to a flood of wildly creative newplayer-madeStarfieldshipsshowing up online. In order to really make the most of these newly expanded customization options, though, shipbuilding should also be given a bigger part to play inStarfield’s core gameplay loop.
New Starfield Expansions Should Make Shipbuilding a Bigger Part of the Gameplay
With the exception of a few key upgrades needed to access the game’s final missions, players could progress through much ofStarfield’s main storywithout ever needing to interact with the shipbuilder. While this arguably streamlined the gameplay, it also likely discouraged some players from ever taking the time to customize their ship. to get those players to engage with the shipbuilding mechanic going forward, futureStarfieldexpansions should make acquiring and customizing new ships a central part of their gameplay.
Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC provides a perfect opportunity to integrate shipbuilding more tightly into the core gameplay. As part of their investigation into the mysteriousmembers ofStarfield’s House Va’Ruun, players could be tasked with stealing parts and ships from the worshipers of the Great Serpent to integrate into their own armadas. Future expansions could go even further with this idea, requiring players to craft specific ship types to be able to complete some missions. This would be a great way to get gamers to interact withStarfield’s standout feature and incentivize players to experiment with new builds.
Making shipbuilding a central part ofStarfield’s gameplay going forwardcould be Bethesda’s best bet at reigniting interest in the sprawling sci-fi RPG following what some saw as a lackluster launch. By adding new ships, parts, and manufacturers to its already impressive customization options and making shipbuilding a core part of the overall gameplay, future expansions could double down onStarfield’s biggest strength and finally give the game’s most innovative feature the spotlight it deserves.
