Starfield: Shattered Space interview touts new ship customization, tools, and gadget options

The first major expansion pack for Starfield, Shattered Space, is due to launch on September 30. Bethesda has, naturally, been trying to work up the community ahead of the grand release with cool pre-release materials, but an interview with lead creative producer Tim Lamb seems to have gone under the radar.

This interview, courtesy of Gaming Boulevard, took place during this year’s Gamescom, and while much of it simply reiterates what we already know about the DLC, there are some really interesting tidbits in there still. Like, for example, Lamb outright states that there are some “new mechanics that [Bethesda is] really excited about.” Lamb here references some new zero-gravity combat scenarios, for one, as well as a way to “really tailor [the player ships] to the [owners’] playstyle.” What this means, exactly, we do not know, but that’s just the start of it.

Starfield promises loads of new gear for Shattered Space

Continuing his comment about new combat scenarios and ship customization options, Lamb also said that “there are new tools and gadgets that will help players interact with the environment in deeper, more meaningful ways,” which isn’t necessarily something I expected to hear. Certainly, new guns, gear, and even ship goodies are sort of to be expected, but Lamb’s comments here have some slightly different implications. They might not amount to anything in the end, as he might’ve been referring to ship upgrades in a flowery way, but the fact that Bethesda recently released the RAV-8 land vehicle clearly shows that the studio is upping its game over time.

Something to keep in mind here is that Shattered Space seems to be a more endgame-oriented piece of content: “The DLC is definitely designed with more experienced players in mind,” Lamb told Gaming Boulevard. “We wanted to make sure that the challenges and the story feel appropriately scaled for those who have already invested time into building up their characters.”

This, taken in tandem with the interaction comments, could suggest that there’s more to Shattered Space than meets the eye, and that the DLC might lead to some meaningful upgrades to Starfield‘s core gameplay loop. Even beyond the tailor-made content of Shattered Space, that is.

Let’s not forget, either, that Shattered Space is only just the start for Starfield‘s post-launch paid offerings, with the second year of DLC(s) having already been confirmed a while ago. For those of us who found Starfield uniquely compelling from day one onwards, this has been a heck of a ride. Further, the recent glut of mods and meaningful gameplay updates isn’t about to stop anytime soon, meaning we’ll have even more reasons to keep spending time in Bethesda’s flagship space exploration RPG down the line. A solid showing. Let’s see what comes next. And remember that there’s that Doom-themed questline coming our way, too.