Bethesda's Pete Hines apologizes for Starfield Xbox exclusivity: "I'm certain that's frustrating to folks"

Bethesda Softworks SVP Pete Hines says he's "sorry" to PlayStation fans frustrated with Starfield's Xbox console exclusivity. 

In an interview with GameSpot, Hines was asked to comment on Starfield, and some Bethesda games more broadly, becoming Xbox exclusives after the studio's acquisition by Microsoft. As you might expect, Hines can't wave a magic wand and bring Starfield, Elder Scrolls 6, and Redfall to PS5, but he can offer his sincere sympathies.

"If you're a big fan of the stuff we make and a game that we're making is no longer available on your platform, I totally understand if you're unhappy or pissed, or whatever," Hines said. "Like, I get it. Those are all real feelings and frustrations. How should you deal with that, I haven't the foggiest idea. I would never presume to say, 'Oh, here's how you can make it better and feel better.'"

While he isn't focused on remedying the predicament of PlayStation players looking forward to future Bethesda games, Hines does the take time to apologize directly to that group of people, despite the situation being out of his hands.

"I don't know how to allay the fears and concerns of PlayStation 5 fans other than to say, well, I'm a PlayStation 5 player as well and I've played games on that console and there's games I'm gonna continue to play on it, but if you want to play Starfield, PC and Xbox, sorry. All I can really say is 'I apologize', because I'm certain that's frustrating to folks. But there's not a whole lot I can do about it."

Meanwhile, Todd Howard, another recognizable figure at Bethesda, said today that despite regrettably losing some of its audience, Starfield's Xbox exclusivity will make it "a better product" by allowing Bethesda to focus on optimizing the game for a narrower range of platforms.

"You don't ever want to leave people out, right? But at the end of the day, your ability to focus and say, this is the game I want to make, these are the platforms I want to make it on, and being able to really lean in on those is going to make for a better product," Howard said.

For everything else on the horizon for the 'box, here's our comprehensive guide to upcoming Xbox Series X games.