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This beloved open-world PC indie game is finally coming to Xbox 8 years later, and you can (maybe) play it right now
By Brendan Lowry,
9 hours ago
What you need to know
Starbound is a popular 2016 open-world space exploration game in which you adventure through a procedurally generated universe with your spaceship.
The indie was a huge hit on PC, and now — eight years after its original launch — Starbound is getting an Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One port soon.
Developer Chucklefish hasn't yet announced a release date, but is currently holding a beta playtest for the game on Xbox that you'll have a chance to get access to by installing the Insider Hub app on your Xbox.
The beta runs until next week on September 4, 2024, with the developers primarily looking for feedback on the console version's performance, UI, gamepad controls, and gameplay balancing.
The PC version of Starbound is available on GOG, Steam, and the Microsoft Store for $14.99. Notably, it's playable on the latter platform through PC Game Pass (and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, by extension).
When games expand to platforms other than the ones they launched on, it's something that typically happens within a couple of years or so. In rare cases, though, popular titles can come to new systems many years later, giving their players a surprising chance to finally enjoy something other gamers have come to call a beloved classic. That's precisely what happened this week, with the studio behind the fan-favorite open-world PC game Starbound confirming that an Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One release is coming soon — a full eight years after its original 2016 launch.
"The Starbound Xbox version is finally almost ready to launch!" reads the recent announcement blog post from publisher and developer Chucklefish. "Before we confirm the release date, we would love to involve the Starbound community to get your thoughts and feelings regarding usability — specifically around controls and console-specific design decisions on the Xbox version. This will inform our final changes ahead of the game’s launch, and will help us with any further quality of life changes for future post-launch patches."
As the post notes, Starbound's specific release date on Xbox hasn't been revealed yet. However, Chucklefish is holding a playtest for the game on Microsoft's consoles through the Xbox Insider Program that lasts until next week on September 4, 2024 . The developers say that "the testing pool will be size restricted in order for us to manage and prioritize the feedback we receive," but any Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One user may be eligible for this beta once they install the Insider Hub app (if you are, the option to participate will appear within the app).
Starbound's procedural generation means that no two playthroughs will ever be the same. (Image credit: Chucklefish)
In other words, there's a solid chance you can jump into the game right now on Xbox, but access isn't guaranteed. If you are and decide to try out Starbound, Chucklefish asks that you fill out this Xbox Insider feedback form when you're ready to share your thoughts on the experience. The survey is fairly extensive with six pages of questions, with most of them focusing on console performance, user interface, gamepad controls, and gameplay balance. The developers have also implored playtesters to report any bugs they experience with Xbox's "Report a problem" option (hold down your controller's Xbox button and you'll see it pop up).
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(Image credit: Harish Jonnalagadda / Windows Central)
"Our main aim of the playtest is to find the optimal default controller mapping for the launch version using information we receive from the playtest surveys," the studio explained. "We want to find out what feels best and most natural for the majority of players, so after you’ve given the default controls a try, you can adjust the mapping and deadzone balancing in the Settings."
If you're hoping to check out Starbound with friends, good news: the game was designed with multiplayer in mind, and supports four-player parties. Playing the beta on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One X, or Xbox One will allow you to join a full party, though Xbox One S users can only play with one other person. The reason for this limitation wasn't given in Chucklefish's blog post.
If you've never heard of it, Starbound is a 2D open-world survival game in which you adventure through a vast procedurally generated universe by traveling from planet to planet in your starship. I haven't played it yet, but differences in presentation aside, it's immediately giving me No Man's Sky vibes — funnily enough, Hello Games' zero-to-hero hit also came out in 2016 — though Starbound seems to place a greater emphasis on RPG character building and narrative, while No Man's Sky is more about exploration. The game has a "Very Positive" rating on Steam, with 90% of its 85,189 reviews giving it a thumbs up.
Note that if you don't manage to get into the ongoing Xbox playtest, many folks in the Xbox ecosystem can still blast off to the PC version without making a full purchase thanks to Starbound's availability on PC Game Pass (and, by extension, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate ). It will likely also be playable through the console version of Xbox Game Pass once the Xbox edition releases in full, though this hasn't been directly confirmed at the time of writing.
Should you prefer buying the game directly, you can do so for $14.99 on GOG, Steam, and the Microsoft Store. It's not on sale anywhere right now, but based on its glowing reviews from critics and players alike, I'd say it's absolutely worth getting at its MSRP. If you're into the open-world and survival genres, it seems like one of the best PC games to play; I'm definitely checking it out soon for that reason.
One of the most popular open-world indie games ever made will soon be available on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One systems for all players, though you might get into the ongoing beta playtest right now if you join the Xbox Insider Program. Alternatively, you can buy the original PC version on GOG, Steam, or the Microsoft Store, with the latter platform also including it on PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate.
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