Starfield devs would love to answer your questions, but "no one other than Todd Howard" can talk about the game

Todd Howard presents Starfield
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield developers see your many, rabid questions and would love to answer them, but they can't on account of Bethesda boss Todd Howard being the only one cleared to talk about the game publicly. 

Senior design director Emil Pagliarulo recently took to Twitter to set the record straight after a no-doubt exhausting rush of questions from hungry fans. "I know this isn't what any Starfield fan wants to hear from me, but I feel like I need to make this clear: no one other than Todd Howard himself is authorized to talk publicly about unreleased game info," he said. "That's the job of our PR/marketing/community folks." 

Pagliarulo says he's "humbled by your anticipation of Starfield" and pained that he "simply can't answer 99% of your questions." But them's the brakes: "I signed an NDA. I'm a professional. I don't want to get fired." In response to one fan speculating Pagliarulo had gotten a slap on the wrist after saying too much, he affirmed that he wasn't in trouble "at all, just being proactive." 

Pagliarulo's response was quickly picked up by the Starfield subreddit, which was probably the incubator for many of the questions that nobody but Todd Howard can feasibly answer. The response from fans has actually (mostly) been one of understanding. The top-rated reply puts it nicely: "He said leave me the fuck alone in the nicest way." 

"Honestly, a really nice response for what I'm sure is an avalanche of obnoxious (and probably some very rude) comments," adds another user. 

Some Starfield hopefuls are even becoming self-aware: "I for one don't want answers to all the questions in my head," writes tspielman. "I want to start playing, exploring, finding out all the answers for myself during my journey. That's half the magic of Bethesda's games." 

The best thing to do here really is to hang onto your burning questions and try to answer them for yourself when the game launches. And in the meantime, marvel at the incredible Starfield shipbuilder who got Bethesda's seal of approval

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with 12DOVE since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

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