Starfield is going full Star Trek with a space folding warp drive, and you can't go everywhere immediately

Starfield
(Image credit: Bethesda)

Starfield is going full Star Trek to travel to the stars, letting you "fold space" to reach distant planets and systems. For anyone not up on their impossible transport technobabble, that's basically the warp drive from Star Trek and just about every faster than light fiction - warping or folding space to put you in a new location. 

The recent Starfield Direct has finally clarified it's in-game transport system, explaining how the previously revealed Grav Drive will let you travel between all the  Starfield star systems in the universe. The idea behind folding space in Starfield, which is basically how Star Trek's warp drive works, is that you don't technically move - instead space is deformed around you put you in a new position.

One new bit of crucial info for Starfield is that your Starfield skills and Grav Drive will need upgrading if you want to jump to the most distant locations. So it sounds like you won't be able to travel anywhere right from the start - some of the further reaches of space could well be unavailable until you you've leveled up enough or improved your engines enough. Whether that's linked to story progress or simply how much you level up remains to be seen. 

Check what sort of ship you could be flying through the galaxy with our look at Starfield ship customization 

Leon Hurley
Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website.