A Starfield "you're too early" error message is hampering players' attempts to get into the game, with others attempting to troubleshoot the issue.
As we noted in our Starfield launch live coverage, even though the early access period should have started at 01:00 BST (or your local time), several players are being hit with Windows and Xbox error messages that say they're too early to log in.
Everyone in the world rn... #STARFIELD pic.twitter.com/PZ21LJT3TgSeptember 1, 2023
#Starfield pre release absolutely amazing so far! pic.twitter.com/8MOcAzG5wtSeptember 1, 2023
It's the kind of error that's likely caused by the sheer volume of people rushing to get into the game, but it's still frustrating, especially if you've been waiting to get in all day. There's yet to be any resolution or official confirmation of the issue, but it's currently flooding social media channels relating to the game.
One post suggests that if you're stuck out of the game, reinstalling the (hopefully small) Premium add-on should help you get through, but we've not been able to verify that at this time. Another claims they made it through the message by simply "spamming" opening the game. That suggests that this might be a bottleneck issue, which should abate as the evening draws on, or an issue limited to the premium add-on, which more than one post has suggested removing.
PSA: Starfield Unpacking times can slow your Steam pre-load, but you can help speed it up.
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I'm GamesRadar's news editor, working with the team to deliver breaking news from across the industry. I started my journalistic career while getting my degree in English Literature at the University of Warwick, where I also worked as Games Editor on the student newspaper, The Boar. Since then, I've run the news sections at PCGamesN and Kotaku UK, and also regularly contributed to PC Gamer. As you might be able to tell, PC is my platform of choice, so you can regularly find me playing League of Legends or Steam's latest indie hit.