Todd Howard Teases Potentially Controversial Starfield Finale

The ending of Starfield may be "controversial" according to the game's director, Todd Howard. In an NPR interview, Howard suggested that the game's ending may not provide all the answers, leaving some elements open to player interpretation. While he avoided discussing specific spoilers, it's clear that the ending won't definitively answer all player questions. 

To understand Howard's assertion fully, players must complete the campaign, with a standard playthrough taking approximately 18 hours. However, for players who veer from the main path or completionists, this could extend to 48 or even 192 hours of gameplay. 

Starfield is available on platforms including Xbox Series X|S, PC, and the Xbox Game Pass. Notably, one player managed to complete the main campaign in under three hours during the game's early access stage, highlighting the game's scale. 

The emptiness of some of Starfield's 1,000-plus planets was also a deliberate design choice, according to discussions between Howard and Bethesda's managing director, Ashley Cheng. The pair argued that rather than being boring, these desolate planets add a unique sense of loneliness to the game's massive galaxy.