Anticipation for Starfield is incredibly high due to its nature as a new Bethesda IP and its promising sci-fi RPG concept. For many months, Starfield looked like it could be the defining game of late 2022, but now there’s room for somebody else to take the crown. Forspoken could be the game that fills Starfield’s shoes. Even though it’s a very different style of RPG, Forspoken is a major new IP from an acclaimed developer that has the potential to dramatically impact its genre. Forspoken has a chance to shape 2022’s RPG space in the way that Starfield intended to.

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Forspoken’s Opportunity to Flourish

There are undoubtedly a lot of differences between Forspoken and Starfield. The former game is a high-magic fantasy action RPG for the PS5, while the latter is an Xbox Series X title about space travel. Still, it’s clear that Starfield offered some serious competition for Forspoken in 2022. Both games want to reinvent RPG conventions in their own ways, with Forspoken imagining creative new systems of combat while Starfield reworks companions and NPC conversations. Since these two games were originally meant to release about a month apart, they would have undoubtedly ended up fighting for publicity and advertising space as 2022 wore on, each trying to appeal to RPG fans with their respective innovations.

Now that Starfield has been pushed into 2023, however, Forspoken can keep the spotlight for itself. Bethesda may still advertise Starfield by revealing some details in late 2022, but it likely won’t be quite as aggressive as it would if Starfield was still committed to its old release date. Thanks to that, Forspoken can flaunt its creative ideas in Starfield’s place, selling RPG fans on its swift traversal mechanics, open world design, arcane combat, isekai story, and more. Much like how Elden Ring dominated RPG discussion in early 2022 through its contributions to the Soulslike genre, Forspoken could be a major talking point of late 2022.

Possible Competition for Forspoken

Of course, Forspoken still has plenty of other games to bear in mind going into late 2022. Gotham Knights also releases in October and might also vie for dominance, and Pokemon Scarlet and Violet act as major competitors in the RPG space too. What’s more, it’s entirely possible that Microsoft will be able to release another RPG in Starfield’s place. Other upcoming Xbox RPGs like Fable may have eluded fans for a long time now, but there’s enough time left in the year for Microsoft to surprise fans with a Fable or Avowed reveal that includes a late 2022 release date.

Regardless of the potential competition, though, Starfield’s delay is undoubtedly a relief for Square Enix. Both Bethesda and Square Enix are hugely influential players in the RPG space, so Square Enix has definitely gained a major advantage with Bethesda’s next big RPG out of the picture for now. As long as Forspoken doesn’t need to get delayed again, it could turn out to be a major victory for Square Enix this year. Hopefully Luminous Productions and Square Enix reiterate Forspoken’s current release date and celebrate the game’s arrival over the next few months, making the most out of Starfield’s need for more time.

Forspoken releases October 11, 2022 for PC and PS5.

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