Starfield's next PC patch offers a "huge step forward" according to early tests
Expect some big performance improvements, especially on non-AMD hardware
The next major PC patch for Starfield is currently in beta, and early testing suggests that we can expect some gigantic performance improvements in this update.
Testing from the folks at Digital Foundry suggests that this patch is "a huge step forward for the game on PC," particularly with its "massive" performance boosts across various CPU and GPU configurations. The game now makes much better use of the multitude of cores available on high-end processors - DF's testing found a 20 percent performance boost in a run through Akila City on a Ryzen 7 7800X3D.
The game also now runs far better on non-AMD graphics cards. AMD GPUs see a slight performance boost, while Nvidia and Intel equivalents are seeing much larger gains, bringing the cards closer in line to the performance you'd expect. This patch also implements proper DLSS upscaling support for Nvidia GPUs, and the results seem to be in line with the previous fanmade DLSS mods.
There are still issues - the PC HDR implementation can't even match up against community mods and there are still some frame-time hiccups - but DF's finding this much closer to the game that should've been available at launch. We may even see further improvements by the time the beta period is over.
The new Starfield patch is set to properly go live sometime in November. You can already install the PC beta via Steam, but we'll have to wait and see if there are any notable technical improvements on Xbox.
If you're looking for the Starfield system requirements you can find a full breakdown at that link.
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
Dustin Bailey joined the GamesRadar team as a Staff Writer in May 2022, and is currently based in Missouri. He's been covering games (with occasional dalliances in the worlds of anime and pro wrestling) since 2015, first as a freelancer, then as a news writer at PCGamesN for nearly five years. His love for games was sparked somewhere between Metal Gear Solid 2 and Knights of the Old Republic, and these days you can usually find him splitting his entertainment time between retro gaming, the latest big action-adventure title, or a long haul in American Truck Simulator.