Starfield May update is now live, adds 60fps mode, map improvements, and more

Bethesda has announced the huge May update for Starfield is now live, offering loads of quality of life improvements including surface maps.

The surface maps have been long requested, and were recently tested on Steam with a preview branch. The publisher says “Surface maps are improved and replace surface dots with terrain markings. These markings combined with visual points of interest on the map makes navigation and pinpointing locations much easier”, adding “Additionally, new markers have been added in the major cities to show the locations of vendors and each of these markers acts as a fast travel point. Players can immediately warp to these destinations from their Scanner or the surface map.”

A major part of the update is the new display options, which are for Xbox Series X players, and lets you choose between visual quality of performance. Here’s the details:

• Frame Rate Target: Players can now choose between 30, 40, 60 or an Uncapped frame rate on VRR displays. Players without a VRR display running at least 120hz will still be able to select from 30 or 60. Screen tearing may occur at times when selecting 60 on a non-VRR display.
• Prioritize: Players can now prioritize between “Visuals and Performance” while trying to maintain the frame rate target. Performance mode is suggested if choosing a frame rate target of 60 or above. Prioritizing Visuals keeps the highest resolution while maintaining full detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Prioritizing Performance lowers internal resolution and detail for special effects, lighting, and crowds. Both modes may adjust internal resolution dynamically when scenes or action get heavier as well.
• VSync: Players can now toggle between VSync off or on. Choosing off will separate the game frames from the monitor’s refresh rate and may result in screen tearing. Toggling On will synchronize the frame rate to the monitor’s refresh rate avoiding screen tearing but limiting number of frames.

There are also lots of gameplay changes, and you can now change things like carry capacity, or you can access your ship cargo from anywhere through your inventory. There are new difficulties as well, making the game harder if you fancy it.

Here’s the last of the major updates, and you can see more on the official blog post:

New Game Plus Trait Respeccing: Replayability is huge in Bethesda Game Studios games, and in Starfield the universe expands even more with New Game Plus. Now, after players enter the Unity, they will have the option to change both their appearance and Traits. This gives players the opportunity to continue refining their characters visually, and experiment with different playstyles after every play-through.

Quality of Life Improvements: In addition to the major features in this May Update, there are also numerous quality-of-life improvements like the ability to toggle the dialogue camera off so players can watch scenes play out from their chosen perspective. There are also new tabs in the Container and Barter menus, making it easier to see where you’re navigating to when quickly cycling through the menus.

Looking Ahead: Major features are on the horizon, including a land vehicle for speedier planetary exploration, official mod support for Starfield, and the massive Shattered Space expansion. Stay tuned in the coming months for more news on these!

Starfield is out now for PC and Xbox Series S|X.