Eagle-eyed viewers may have noticed a rather extensive update for the Starfield pre-install on Xbox Series X/S and PC totalling 15.46GB of precious SSD space.
Well, according to a new leak via Insider Gaming, the patch includes a range of improvements and fixes with a primary focus on Xbox Series console performance and stability improvements, among other things. This confirms previous speculation about a day-one patch, and Todd Howard mentioning a “couple of final tweaks” at Gamescom 2023, not forgetting to reinforce previous murmurs stating that Starfield will be the least buggiest Bethesda launch yet.
Designated 1.7.23, the leaked day-one patch addresses various performance, visual and gameplay bugs, including pesky quest-related issues, meaning we shouldn’t encounter any game-breaking quests during the initial playthrough. Great stuff. Additionally, Steam Deck users receive virtual keyboard support, though there’s no mention of the all-important Steam Deck-verified stamp of approval – we’ll have to wait for Valve for that information.
Nonetheless, a full patch breakdown can be found down below:
Performance and Stability Fixes
- Improved stability related to suspending and resuming the game. (Xbox Series X/S)
- Fixed rare crash that could occur when viewing the credits after completing the game.
- Fixed crash that could appear when repeatedly loading some saves inside of ships.
- Various stability and performance improvements.
Visual Fixes
- Fixed an issue where sometimes hair would not appear on characters.
- Improved distant object appearance when transitioning to the surface of a planet.
- Addressed an issue that sometimes caused face animations to move abruptly.
- Fixed an issue where rarely in certain views white flashing boxes could appear in the Handscanner.
- Fixed an issue that would cause an undesirable texture blend near the coastline.
- Fixed an issue that would cause textures to degrade unnecessarily. (Xbox Series S)
Gameplay Fixes
- Fixed a rare issue that could cause Companions to float in the air.
- Fixed an issue that could cause some ship modules to become misaligned.
- Fixed some issues that would prevent touch-down points from turning red in Ship Builder.
- Fixed an issue that could cause the player to appear incorrectly when equipping items.
- Addressed an issue that could prevent the Isolation skill from behaving as intended.
- Adjusted the distance the player is able to access and store cargo in their ship.
- Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause a long delay on the Press any button screen.
Quest Fixes
- Fixed rare issue that could cause ship patrols not to appear for “First to Fight, First to Die.”
- Addressed a rare issue where the Contraband scan would not occur potentially preventing landing at New Atlantis.
- Fixed an unlikely issue that could prevent landing at New Atlantis during “Deep Cover.”
- Fixed an issue that could prevent Heat Leeches from counting as killed after completing “A Legacy Forged.”
- Fixed how a location would appear near a hidden Earth landmark.
- Fixed a rare issue that could potentially trap the player in The Facility.
- Addressed an infrequent issue where a Spacer Ship didn’t correctly appear for a radiant quest.
- Fixed an unlikely issue that could appear during “Revelation” depending on how the player interacted with the Emissary.
- Addressed an issue with the Deimos Slim bottom ship module that is used on the Razorleaf.
- Fixed rare issue that could prevent companions from accompanying the player after “No Sudden Moves”.
- Addressed a rare issue that could impact “Power from Beyond.”
That’s about it. Starfield is just around the corner and launches on August 31 for Premium Edition members and September 6 on Xbox Series X/S and PC, while the official review embargo lifts eight hours before release. We await with bated breath.
