Even Starfield’s community patch modders are growing ‘disenchanted’ with the sci-fi RPG, as volunteers depart in droves: ‘If nobody comes forward, we may have to retire the project’

It would be unfair to call Starfield a terrible game, but by now it’s safe to say that Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG lacks the magic of its earlier games, particularly when compared to Skyrim and Oblivion. Indeed, the fervour around Oblivion Remastered demonstrates much of what Starfield lacks, like the ability to create a distinct, interesting character, and a world with the capacity to produce weird, interesting scenarios.

You don’t have to take my word for it either. Since launching in 2023, Starfield has slumped to a ‘Mixed’ rating of 58% positive reviews on Steam, and now, even its most dedicated fans are growing weary of its po-faced science fiction and bitty, nebulous galaxy. The creators of the Starfield Community Patch, who banded together more than a year before the game launched to unofficially support this latest Bethesda world, are at risk of the project collapsing entirely because its volunteers are fed up with the game.

This was revealed on the Starfield Modding Discord by Community Patch modder Pickysaurus (via GamesRadar), who recently announced the project is “looking for new caretakers.” Explaining why the Community Patch hasn’t been updated since September 2024, Pickysaurus states that “This is due to the core team members generally not having the time or motivation to curate the patch anymore.”

Pickysaurus explains his own reason for not tending to the project regularly is that he has adopted a new puppy, and as such he’s “only able to spend a few hours a week gaming”. But other volunteers have just kinda had enough of Starfield. “Other members of the team have found themselves disenchanted with the game for various reasons—lack of replayability, the paid modding situation, moved on to playing new games, etc.”

As such, Pickysaurus says they’re “opening up the floor” to anyone wishing to take over leading the project. The role involves bringing together bug fixes contributed by the community and making preparations for new patch releases such as writing the changelog.

Pickysaurus says the role is “a fair amount of work” but if a replacement isn’t forthcoming, it may spell the end of the Community Patch: “If nobody comes forward, we may have to retire the project and direct users to Arthmoor’s patch going forward.”Worth noting, however, that Arthmoor’s Unofficial Starfield Patch doesn’t look terribly active either: It was last updated in December 2024.