Starfield: Design Director responds to criticism of the game and Shattered Space | Xbox

Starfield's Shattered Space DLC has been available for over a week, and unfortunately it has failed to impress players and the press. One player reached out to Emil Pagliarulo, studio design director at Bethesda Game Studios, to express his concerns about the direction the studio is headed.

Starfield's design director responds to criticism of the game and Shattered Space

In several posts on Twitter, user Steven M. Mikolaitis criticized a GamesRadar interview with Emil Pagliarulo, noting that it seemed disconnected from the concerns of players frustrated with Starfield. He expressed concern about the company's direction, noting that despite the creativity invested in Shattered Space, persistent issues such as poorly written quests, bugs, and lack of meaningful content remain unresolved. As a long-time fan, he calls on Bethesda to engage more with its community, acknowledge criticism, and redirect its efforts toward improving the game, rather than justifying unpopular decisions.

Since Stephen M. Mikolaitis was in no way aggressive and remained polite, Emil Pagliarulo took the time to respond expressing his gratitude for his passionate comments, even if he did not completely agree. He emphasized the importance of open communication with fans and explained that he conducted the interview to represent the Shattered Space development team, which he is proud of. He emphasizes that Bethesda takes into account the concerns of the community and is actively working to improve the game.

Hi Steven! First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to passionately share your thoughts. I may not agree with everything you wrote, but I understand and appreciate your point of view. Twitter/X has never been a place for polite discourse, but I'd like to take what I can. I don't like to keep my fans waiting. In fact, I usually talk more than I should. We have a community team for a reason. But I think communication with developers is important.

Optimism and excitement are beautiful criteria for interviews. And I'm usually very optimistic and excited (about games) by nature. However, my optimism is in no way intended to provoke dissatisfied fans. This is not how it works. I'm also very proud of Shattered Space. We all are. Most quests and levels were designed by designers who worked on previous Bethesda games and DLC, all the way back to Morrowind. They are good at what they do, and it shows.

If people don't play Shattered Space and love Starfield, I think they'll miss the game. If people play Shattered Space and still don't like it, it honestly makes me sad. Just know that we've also heard from many people who love it.

Maybe it's a matter of expectations. The fans want a lot, and we do everything we can to satisfy them. Here's what I can tell you: No one, and I mean no one, at Bethesda is patting themselves on the back while ignoring our players.

In addition to Shattered Space, we also spent a lot of time this year responding to community concerns and making fixes. We will continue to do so and will listen to our fans every step of the way. We make these games for all of you.

Starfield is a huge game, and it's going to take some time to work out the kinks. We are moving as quickly as possible, and as carefully as possible. Game development is always difficult, but with a game as big as Starfield, every patch will likely break something else.

In conclusion, let me just say… I love games. I love Bethesda games. I've been playing it since the Terminator days. All I or anyone here wants to do is make these games… and then improve them. No ego. No arrogance. Just a lot of hard work and appreciation to our fans.

So the message is clear. Bethesda really listens to its fans and wants to improve Starfield so it will be more appreciated. However, it seems difficult to make changes to an address of this size, risking disruption of many interwoven systems.

It remains to be seen whether in the coming months and years Starfield will be able to shine like Skyrim. Unfortunately, with Shattered Space, the studio missed the boat, while fans were waiting for the expansion just around the corner. Hopefully the next updates and content will allow the studio to get back on track!