Starfield gets a 15GB day one update, leaked patch notes show Steam Deck support

Bethesda Game Studios is almost ready to launch its next grand RPG, Starfield, with the early launch for special edition owners incoming in just a couple of days. Starfield went gold earlier this month, but as with most game launches, a final update has been readied to make the experience just a bit more smoother for those jumping in on day one.

Xbox Series X|S, Microsoft Store PC, and Game Pass subscribers who have preloaded the game should now have the update rolling out to them. It weighs around 15GB on both PC and console. As Steam players aren't able to pre-load the game until the premium early access period starts for everyone, they should not see a change in their download procedure.

While Bethesda has not published official patch notes for this update yet, a leak from insider-gaming seems to have spilled the beans early. Looking at the leaked notes the focus is on bug fixes and resolving crashes, as well as improving performance.

The leaked notes from the Starfield early access 1.7.23 patch can be seen below. Keep in mind there may be spoilers in the descriptions, especially in the Quest Fixes section, so skip ahead to avoid the details:

• Performance and Stability Fixes
  • Improved stability related to suspending and resuming the game. (Xbox Series X/S)
  • Fixed rare crash that could occur when viewing the credits after completing the game.
  • Fixed crash that could appear when repeatedly loading some saves inside of ships.
  • Various stability and performance improvements.
• Visual Fixes
  • Fixed an issue where sometimes hair would not appear on characters.
  • Improved distant object appearance when transitioning to the surface of a planet.
  • Addressed an issue that sometimes caused face animations to move abruptly.
  • Fixed an issue where rarely in certain views white flashing boxes could appear in the Handscanner.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause an undesirable texture blend near the coastline.
  • Fixed an issue that would cause textures to degrade unnecessarily. (Xbox Series S)
• Gameplay Fixes
  • Fixed a rare issue that could cause Companions to float in the air.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause some ship modules to become misaligned.
  • Fixed some issues that would prevent touch-down points from turning red in Ship Builder.
  • Fixed an issue that could cause the player to appear incorrectly when equipping items.
  • Addressed an issue that could prevent the Isolation skill from behaving as intended.
  • Adjusted the distance the player is able to access and store cargo in their ship.
  • Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause a long delay on the Press any button screen.
• Quest Fixes
  • Fixed rare issue that could cause ship patrols not to appear for “First to Fight, First to Die.”
  • Addressed a rare issue where the Contraband scan would not occur potentially preventing landing at New Atlantis.
  • Fixed an unlikely issue that could prevent landing at New Atlantis during “Deep Cover.”
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent Heat Leeches from counting as killed after completing “A Legacy Forged.”
  • Fixed how a location would appear near a hidden Earth landmark.
  • Fixed a rare issue that could potentially trap the player in The Facility.
  • Addressed an infrequent issue where a Spacer Ship didn’t correctly appear for a radiant quest.
  • Fixed an unlikely issue that could appear during “Revelation” depending on how the player interacted with the Emissary.
  • Addressed an issue with the Deimos Slim bottom ship module that is used on the Razorleaf.
  • Fixed rare issue that could prevent companions from accompanying the player after “No Sudden Moves”.
  • Addressed a rare issue that could impact “Power from Beyond.”

Another piece of information Insider-Gaming has gathered is the mention of Starfield's performance on hand-held gaming PCs. “Starfield will run on both the Steam Deck and the ROG Ally with the correct drivers, but the hardware below the recommended minimum specs and performance may suffer,” the leaked document had said.

Bethesda has not officially commented on Steam Deck compatibility for Starfield yet. If the leak is accurate though, Steam Deck players will at least be able to play the game. Do not expect the launch performance to be very smooth on any of the currently released handhelds however.

Starfield launches for Premium and Constellation Edition owners on August 31, while Standard Edition and Game Pass players will gain access on September 6. The Microsoft-published sci-fi RPG is coming out on Xbox Series X|S and PC (Steam and Microsoft Store).