Good news: you can become a space pirate or a space cowboy.
Like their previous games, Bethesda is planning an array of Starfield factions for players to join up with. A lot of them have intertwining relationships that the Colony War of 20 years prior has either exacerbated or strengthened.
One important point about faction choice that we’ve learned in a Starfield interview about quests is that you won’t necessarily become the new leader of whichever you choose like in Oblivion or Skyrim. And unlike Fallout 4 you’ll still be able to experience the stories for each faction in some way, even if you’ve sided with their enemies. To help you make that choice, everything starts out with the explorer group Constellation where you’ll get your footing in the settled systems and meet all the main players.
From space pirates to cyberpunk hyper-capitalists, we got you covered on a breakdown of every known Starfield faction with quirks and drama galore.
How many factions does Starfield have?
So far, we know that at least some of Starfield’s factions will be joinable and, like other Bethesda games, the way those factions feel about each other (and who you choose to help) will also affect how each feels about you, in turn.
Starfield has five main factions that Bethesda has mentioned so far:
ConstellationUnited ColoniesFreestar CollectiveRyujin IndustriesCrimson Fleet
Constellation
(Image credit: Bethesda)
The first faction you’ll join is Constellation, the “last group of space explorers,” according to Bethesda. This is the default group, and will place players in a position to window shop for other factions (or just chill with the Constellation crew).
Constellation takes the front seat for a chunk of the gameplay reveal we saw in summer 2022, delivering some background about a mysterious artifact that your character finds. “We’re committed to the biggest question of all: What’s out there?” they say in that video, not surprising to hear that kind of aspirational curiosity from the explorer faction.
United Colonies
(Image credit: Bethesda)
This group is an idealized futuristic space republic which Bethesda has called the “most powerful, established military and political faction in the game.” During the Colony War twenty years before Starfield takes place, they fought against the Freestar Collective.
From the concept art we’ve seen, it possesses giant mech-like ships hovering on air bases. A lot of the troops are strapped up with blasters and tactical belts; a fashion style reminiscent of the original Star Wars. The United Colonies finds its home in New Atlantis, the biggest of Starfield cities which Bethesda says is the also biggest in its development history.
During the time Starfield takes place, it seems the colonies are particularly concerned with the Crimson Fleet pirate threat. The gameplay reveal included a bit of dialogue from at least one quest in which the United Colonies want to recruit the player to “take down these cutthroat pirates” together.
Freestar Collective
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Cowboys have found their home in space with the Freestar Collective, for “people that are out there on the frontier.” In the Colony War they fought against the United Colonies, pushing for individualism. Now, they focus on preserving their own wellbeing, calling themselves “peacekeepers” who protect their own people. They hail from Akila City where they’re surrounded by the local alien predators the Ashta.
During character creation, you can choose the trait “Freestar Collective Settler” which gives access to Freestar-specific dialogue and better faction rewards during quests, but also increases your bounty for crimes against other factions.
Crimson Fleet
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Yup, these guys are literally Starfield’s space pirate faction. In a March preview video, Design Director Emil Pagliarulo said “They’re not just this foe, let the player join them. What does that mean?” From this conversation it seems like the Crimson Fleet is full of bad dudes. But you’ll have the option to fully join them, or work undercover as a space-narc instead.
Ryujin Industries
(Image credit: Bethesda)
Ryujin Industries is the space take on a mega-corporation, and according to the devs “has one of the best starts of any of Starfield’s factions.” That’s most of what we know about the corporate faction so far aside from some very neon concept art.
Minor factions
Other Starfield factions and groups
The five main factions above are the ones we’ve heard most about so far, but Bethesda has mentioned some other groups in its marketing videos as well. Here are some other names we’re expecting to encounter out in the settled systems:
House of Va’ruun – A cult of space zealotsEnlightened – A religious organizationSanctum Universum – Another religion, the church of the UniversalGreat Serpent worshippers – Also a religious space sectEcliptic Mercenaries – A group of mercenariesSpacers – Dangerous marauders
Which Starfield factions are joinable?
As of right now the Starfield factions you can join are the United Colonies, Freestar Collective, Constellation, Ryujin Industries, and the Crimson Fleet pirates. Bethesda hasn’t shared if the other few factions will be NPC-exclusive. We do know from another recent interview video that you’ll be able to play through all the faction quest lines no matter which one you decide to join, unlike some of the mutually-exclusive factions in Fallout 4.
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