Meet the Factions of Starfield
With Starfield landing on Xbox X|S and PC in 2023, Bethesda Game Studios has been releasing more and more information about the various ins and outs of their highly anticipated, next-generation spacefaring masterpiece. Of the details Bethesda has been open to discussing are the game’s plentiful inhabitants. Starfield’s world is home to a plethora of cliques, all with their very own unique backgrounds, agendas, political stances, and ways of seeing the universe.
The most notable of these factions has been Constellation. An interview with Will Shen, who is the Lead Quest Designer on Starfield and also responsible for the game’s main quest, alludes to Constellation being the faction in which the player becomes involved at the start of their adventure. Made up of space explorers, Constellation is focused on discovery: exploring the galaxy, locating new planets, and attempting to understand them in detail. With a high level of dedication to their craft, Constellation appears to keep their noses out of politics and is noted by Bethesda to be similar to NASA. Todd Howard, Director and Executive Producer at Bethesda, described Constellation as, “a mix of Indiana Jones and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen.”
According to official Starfield lore as mentioned in interviews, somewhere around 2310 a battle known as the Colony War took place between the United Colonies and the Freestar Collective. While these two factions now share an uneasy peace, it appears as if their disdain for each other is still palpable. Appearing to have a very empire/rebellion theme, the United Colonies seem to possess a majority of the galaxy’s resources, a strong military force, and far-reaching political power while the Freestar Collective (or Freestar Rangers as referred to in some interviews) are seemingly billed as resistance fighters in an underdog role. However, if Starfield is taking any cues from Bethesda’s past games, a clear-cut good-versus-evil storyline is most likely not in the cards. Shades of grey are commonplace in the events of the Fallout and Elder Scrolls series alike, and players can surely expect to field the tough moral and ethical choices that Bethesda so masterfully works into their games.
The Crimson Fleet, a group of apparent space pirates, have been referred to as the “bad guys” by Bethesda and according to some reports are currently a thorn in the side of the United Colonies. The Crimson Fleet seems to be on their own agenda and whether that is a noble cause has yet to be seen. It has been mentioned by Todd Howard that The Crimson Fleet will be a joinable faction, however, the player’s loyalty to them is dynamic, meaning that the player is capable of double-crossing them.
A staple of the hard sci-fi, the futuristic genre is the megacorporation, or “mega-corp.” Usually tied in with underhanded back-room deals, the ability to sway the political landscape, and the willingness to pit multiple factions against each other for their own interests; megacorporations will absolutely be making their presence known in the world of Starfield. One such mega-corp, Ryujin Industries, has been mentioned by Will Shen to have one of the best starts of any of the joinable factions. A “job interview” to join Ryujin Industries has been mentioned during interviews with Bethesda staff, however, there are no further details on what that entails.
While other factions have been mentioned in various interviews and promotions, the player’s ability to join up with them is not currently known. The Ecliptic Mercenaries, a tough-looking group of guns for hire has made an appearance and seem to have a slightly Mandalorian-esque aesthetic. The Enlightened, Sanctum Universum, and House Va’ruun are all religious organizations, with the Enlightened and Sanctum Universum apparently entangled in some sort of religious war. Meanwhile, the Great Serpent faith, also religious in nature, is focused on some sort of technology rite. Spacers have also been mentioned and appear to be Starfield’s bread and butter, commonly seen, and rapidly dealt with reprobates.
While it is currently unknown how many in-game factions there will be, which ones are actually joinable, or which ones will play major/minor roles, it is safe to say that Bethesda’s past offerings have not disappointed with respect to their diversely populated and unique worlds, the beings inhabiting them, and the divergent stories which fall into place because of them.
Coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S later this year, forge your own path in the galaxy of Starfield, available for download on Fanatical at release.
