It’s been a while since Starfield: Shattered Space dropped, and it’s looking like things aren’t going as smoothly as Bethesda might have hoped. Despite a lot of initial excitement, the expansion just doesn’t seem to be hitting the mark. Let’s take a look at what’s going on here.

Player Numbers: Far From a Hit

When Shattered Space launched, it peaked at just 21,792 concurrent players on Steam. That’s only about 6,000 more than a pre-launch weekend event and a long way off from the massive 330,723 peak the game had at launch a year ago. It’s a pretty stark decline and a clear sign that the hype train might be losing steam.

To put it in perspective, when Cyberpunk 2077 launched its Phantom Liberty expansion, it blew up from around 32,000 nightly players to an impressive 260,000. With Shattered Space, though, we’re seeing nothing even close to that kind of response, which is telling of how differently the two expansions have been received by players.

Falling Behind: Xbox and Game Pass Rankings

On Xbox, Starfield is currently sitting at #26 on the Most Played Games list—not exactly impressive, especially for a game that was supposed to be one of the biggest RPGs of its time. Even after checking for an update after nearly a week, the ranking hasn’t budged much.

It’s a similar story on Game Pass. Right now, Starfield is ranked 7th most-played on Console Game Pass and 5th on PC Game Pass—just behind Microsoft Solitaire Collection. This suggests that a lot of players who might have been interested in trying out the expansion had already bought the bundle at launch, and the excitement around Shattered Space just wasn’t enough to get more people to dive in.

A Nine-Year-Old Rival: Fallout 4’s Numbers

Interestingly, Starfield is almost tied with Fallout 4 on Steam. That’s pretty notable considering Fallout 4 came out nearly a decade ago. The fact that a brand-new expansion can’t even pull significantly ahead of a nine-year-old title just adds to the sense that this wasn’t the fresh burst of excitement Bethesda probably hoped it would be.

Reception That Matches the Numbers

The critics and players seem to agree. Shattered Space currently holds a 57 Metascore and a 5.6 from audiences. These scores reflect a pretty lukewarm reception—neither side is blown away by what the expansion has to offer. For a game that launched with such high hopes, it’s a letdown to see both critics and players not quite buying into this new chapter.

Bethesda’s Next Steps: Moving On?

This brings us to the big question: Where does Starfield go from here? Initially, there might have been hope that a strong response to Shattered Space would justify more expansions, more investment, and maybe even a longer life for the game. But with Microsoft pushing for Bethesda to move on to The Elder Scrolls 6 and Fallout 5, it doesn’t look like Starfield will get that kind of long-term support. Unlike games designed to be live services that grow and evolve, Starfield just might not have the opportunity to become that kind of redemption story.

Conclusion: A Missed Opportunity

To be fair, Microsoft might still come out and put a positive spin on the numbers, but based on what we’re seeing, Shattered Space hasn’t delivered the impact it needed. Player interest is lukewarm, the rankings on Game Pass are middling, and even nine-year-old Fallout 4 is keeping up. The expansion didn’t bring the buzz or the engagement Bethesda was probably hoping for, and it’s tough to see Starfield turning things around at this point.

The ambition behind Starfield was huge, no doubt about that. But in a competitive market where expansions are expected to reignite excitement, Shattered Space simply hasn’t delivered. It might be time for Bethesda—and the players—to look forward to what’s next.