After decades of creating fantasy and post-apocalyptic experiences, Starfield was Bethesda Game Studios’ first new universe in over twenty-five years. As a game created to inspire the next generation of explorers, we needed to introduce gamers to this new universe and help them imagine the adventures awaiting.

Bethesda Game Studios is famous for creating games defined by exploration, experimentation, and choice. You can be whoever you want and live your own story. Our mission was to portray these player experiences.

A key part of that strategy was The Settled Systems, an an animated anthology that told stories of new beginnings, hope, and opportunity. Each short film introduced a taste of Starfield’s planets, cultures, backgrounds, and factions. Rather than tell the stories of existing characters, the films told original stories that expanded on existing world lore and emphasized the human stories at the center of Starfield’s take on space science fiction.

Told solely through visuals and music without dialogue, The Settled Systems was built for a global audience. The result is more set of mood pieces than an explicit lore dump, helping to establish the game's unique vibe. Rather than overwhelm fans with lore info, each films offered a glimpse at the possibilities and stories within the game’s universe.

Bethesda Game Studios built its world-class reputation by creating game worlds with unparalleled immersion and freedom. As the studio’s first new franchise in over 25 years, we could not rely on an established base of franchise fans. In addition, we knew that gamers may not understand the breadth of opportunities for creating their own story in the sprawling open space epic.

Starfield had to prove it was the next evolution of that legacy and establish its voice in a saturated science fiction genre. To do that, we developed a comprehensive content campaign to demonstrate that Starfield’s depth would eclipse all that had come before, with each piece designed to establish and expand the all-new universe of Starfield.

All three films were produced in parallel, requiring overlapping reviews and teams across every phase of the process. This feat was only possible through close collaboration between client, agency, and production partners.

The films generated over 10 million views on official YouTube channels alone and sparked intense fan conversation, as noted in YouGov’s Buzz tracker. But most importantly, the films helped gamers imagine the endless adventures that awaited them in open space, helping to draw in over 13 million players.

Starfield became Bethesda’s biggest launch, set a record for Xbox Game Pass subscriptions, and drove Xbox’s largest Q1 revenue.