Bethesda boss Pete Hines has rubbished remarks that the 'Starfield' start menu was rushed at the last minute.
Former Blizzard Entertainment staffer Mark Kern took to social media to claim the design of the menu "shows hasty shipping deadlines by a passionate team overworked, or a team that didn’t care."
And the senior vice president of global marketing and communications at Bethesda Softworks, Hines, has hit back, replying on X: "Or they designed what they wanted and that’s been our menu for years and was one of the first things we settled on.
"Having an opinion is one thing. Questioning out a developer’s ‘care’ because you would have done it different is highly unprofessional coming from another ‘dev'."
'Starfield' launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC on September 6.
There has been some upset over the fact there won't be a PS5 version.
The delayed action RPG developed by Bethesda Game Studios received an M (Mature) rating from the Electronic Software Ratings Board, which outlined the explicit content in the game, such as references to jetpack sex, a fictional drug, and swearing.
A description of the title on the ESRB website reads: "This is an open-world role-playing game in which players assume the role of a miner tasked with finding Artifacts across the galaxy. From first-/third-person perspectives, players interact with various characters, complete quests, and search for supplies while battling enemies (e.g., humans, robots, alien creatures). Players use futuristic guns, lasers, axes, and explosives to kill enemies. Combat is fast-paced, with frequent gunfire, cries of pain, and explosions. Attacks on some enemies can result in blood-splatter effects; several environments depict blood stains on the ground around corpses. The game contains some suggestive material in the dialogue, and after sharing a bed with characters (e.g., “Life is a sexually transmitted disease that's a hundred percent fatal”; “I'm all for getting a little wild, but next time let's try it without the jetpacks”; “Talk about seeing stars, whew… that was amazing.”). A fictional drug (Aurora) is prominent in the game, with a section involving players' characters working in an illicit drug lab; players can also obtain Aurora by stealing or buying it from vendors (consuming Aurora results in a distortion effect on the screen). The words “f***” and “bullsh*t” appear in the game. (sic)"
