Starfield rockets past 1 million concurrent players within 24 hours of launch

Starfield has exceeded 1 million concurrent players across all platforms within 24 hours of launch.

That's according to Xbox boss Phil Spencer, who thanked players for helping the sci-fi adventure achieve the "great milestone" in a post on X.

Bethesda's long-awaited space RPG launched on September 6, 2023, but has been available in early access since September 1 for those willing to splash out on the Premium Edition or Constellation Edition.

It would've be interesting to know how many of those 1 million concurrent players paid for early access, with SteamDB estimating that, on PC alone, the title peaked at just under 250,000 concurrent users prior to its official September 6 launch.

There's no way to tell how many Xbox players forked out for early access, either.

Bethesda's Starfield bet

Starfield is Bethesda's first new franchise in over 25 years and was made available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on day one.

During production, Starfield was delayed multiple times and was initially slated to release on November 11, 2022. Its eventual launch represents a huge moment for Microsoft, which spent $7.5 billion to acquire Bethesda back in 2021. 

The Xbox maker has been attempting to expand and improve the quality of its first-party offering through a series of huge M&A deals, including its ongoing purchase of Call of Duty maker Activision Blizzard.

Many of the company's major first-party titles, such as Redfall and Halo Infinite, failed to set the world alight after enduring tumultuous productions, but Microsoft will now be hoping it (and Bethesda) can find sustained success among the stars.