Is Starfield on Xbox One? How to play on the last-gen console

Many players still on last-gen systems are wondering is Starfield on Xbox One? With hype around the upcoming RPG at an all time high, it’s understandable those who’ve not gotten the consoles yet don’t want to be left out in the cold.

With the Starfield early access start time just around the corner, those on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles – as well as PC – are already ready for launch. But while it initially appears to be bad news for those still on last-gen, there may actually be hope if you’re wanting to play the epic space adventure on a last-gen Xbox console.

Read on, and we’ll tell you all about it.

Is Starfield available to buy on Xbox One?

Officially, no. Starfield is not available natively on Xbox One. Bethesda has released the game just for Xbox Series consoles and PC, which is relatively understandable given the scope and size of the space RPG. However, there is still hope for those who want to fly around the galaxy of Starfield on an older system.

Can you play Starfield on Xbox One?

Yes, you can play Starfield on Xbox One. However, there are a few caveats. While the Xbox One console itself is not powerful enough to run Starfield compared to current next-gen hardware, there’s actually an ace up Bethesda and Microsoft’s sleeve. Starfield will be available from launch on Game Pass, and it’s been confirmed that this includes playing the game via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate’s Cloud Gaming feature.

There is one main wrinkle, however. Cloud Gaming will not be available for Starfield during the early access period, according to the listing for the premium edition upgrade on the Xbox Store. If you are planning to play Starfield on an Xbox One via the Cloud, you’ll have to wait until the Starfield regular edition release time of September 6.

If you’re unfamiliar, Xbox Cloud Gaming is a perk available to those on the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscriber tier. Those subscribed are able to, through the Xbox Game Pass app, play a selected number of Xbox Game Pass games remotely on compatible devices via the Cloud. These include mobile devices, tablets, PCs and – crucially for our purposes – the Xbox One.

So while Starfield is not available on Xbox One in the sense of being able to buy the full game and run it directly on the console, the newest single-player RPG from Bethesda Game Studios is available to play on the older console via the Cloud as long as you’re subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and your internet is fast enough.

How to play Starfield on Xbox One via Cloud Gaming

Firstly, you need to boot up your Xbox One console. Then, on the dashboard – head to the Xbox Game Pass tab. Make sure you’re subscribed to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, if you’re not already.

Then, you want to search for Starfield. Once you’ve found it, select the game’s tile, and you should see on the game’s page – on the big button that usually says Install – the word Play with a Cloud symbol next to it. Hit this, and you should be playing Starfield via Xbox Cloud Gaming.

Don’t worry, all your saves and the like are also stored on the cloud, so you don’t have to feel like you have to do as much as you can in one sitting (not that we’d recommend attempting that with a game on the scale of Starfield.) As a bonus, if you later make the upgrade to an Xbox Series X|S (or PC) the game supports Play Anywhere, so your saves should come right with you and you’ll be able to continue where you left off in outer space.

If you are thinking of an upgrade for Starfield, check out our best GPU for Starfield 2023 – our top picks or our guide to the best laptop for Starfield from 4K to budget.  The Starfield release date is officially Wednesday, September 6 for the standard edition. If you’ve not gotten the game yet, check out our Starfield pre-order guide.

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