Starfield 2 not justified, according to ex-Bethesda developer Kurt Kuhlmann
Former Bethesda lead systems designer Kurt Kuhlmann says Starfield wasn’t successful enough for a sequel. Bethesda is still supporting it.
- Kuhlmann says a sequel could have benefited from lessons learned in the first game and may have come closer to Todd Howard’s original vision.
- Bethesda is still supporting Starfield with new DLC and updates, according to IGN, while no official sequel has been announced.
What happened
IGN spoke with Kurt Kuhlmann, former lead systems designer at Bethesda, in an interview with FRVR. In it, he said he would be "very surprised" if Starfield gets a sequel and that he does not think the game was "anywhere near successful enough" to justify Starfield 2. That is his personal view; IGN does not report any official Bethesda decision about a follow-up.
Kuhlmann added that a second game could have benefited from the lessons of the first. According to him, Starfield 2 might therefore have ended up closer to Todd Howard’s original vision for the project. IGN presents this as a reflection from a former developer, not as an internal Bethesda plan.
At the same time, IGN reports that Bethesda is still working on new DLC and updates for Starfield. The article does not mention a title, release date, or content details for that extra material. Still, it fits the picture of Bethesda continuing to support the game after launch rather than announcing a sequel right away.
Todd Howard said in July, according to IGN, that Bethesda will keep expanding Starfield with new stories, gameplay tweaks, additional updates, and new Starborn content planned for next year. No concrete dates or full content details were given there either.
Timeline
September 2023: Starfield launches on PC and Xbox Series X|S.
July 2026: Todd Howard says, according to IGN, that Bethesda will keep expanding Starfield with new stories, gameplay improvements, updates, and Starborn content for next year.
2026-09-24: IGN publishes an interview in which Kurt Kuhlmann says he does not expect Starfield 2 and does not think the game was successful enough for a sequel.
2026-09-24: IGN reports in the same article that Bethesda is still working on new DLC and updates for Starfield, without further details.
2023-09: Starfield launches.
2026-07: Todd Howard says, according to IGN, that Bethesda will continue expanding the Settled Systems with new stories, gameplay improvements, updates, and Starborn content.
2026-09-24: Kurt Kuhlmann says in an interview with FRVR that he does not expect Starfield 2 and does not think the game was successful enough for a sequel.
2026-09-24: IGN reports that Bethesda is still working on new DLC and updates for Starfield.
Background
Kurt Kuhlmann previously worked as lead systems designer at Bethesda, so he is speaking as a former employee, not on behalf of the studio. His comments concern whether Starfield was commercially and creatively strong enough to support a second game. IGN does not cite sales figures, player counts, or other hard metrics that Bethesda itself would use.
Starfield was positioned at launch in 2023 as Bethesda’s big sci-fi RPG and has since received multiple updates. The source material does mention ongoing support and new content, but it does not confirm Starfield 2. That makes the distinction between ongoing DLC support and a formal sequel important.