Has A Second ‘Starfield’ Expansion, Starborn, Leaked?

Starfield’s promising Shattered Space expansion launches this fall, attempting to be yet another solid expansion in 2024 alongside Destiny 2’s The Final Shape and Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree. Even if it’s not at that level, I’d take it being as good or better than existing Starfield content.

Bethesda likely does in fact have more expansions planned with their “long term support” of Starfield, which they’ve previously mentioned. Some are saying a second one just leaked, and it may be called “Starborn.”

Zenimax has now filed a trademark for Starborn for computer software, among a zillion other uses. I am…somewhat skeptical this for sure means another expansion is at hand by that name, however, as there are many reasons you’d want to file a trademark based on a somewhat iconic word that is a staple of your very large IP. And yes, this is filed for computer software and what sounds like DLC. The trademark also applies to “wrapping paper, teddy bears and fire-extinguishing apparatus.” In other words, they filed for every classification in the book, not just for DLC. And besides, many things that are trademarked never actually make it to production.

I do think this is likely just about the word rather than declaring that it’s definitely going to be Starfield’s second expansion. It is a pretty good name for an expansion, but I don’t think we can gather that just from this trademark.

The Starborn concept is essentially the entire endgame mechanic of the game, where the player resets the entire world, keeping their knowledge (but not gear, ships or bases) intact to replay the game. It’s a twist on NG+, one that I do not particularly enjoy given that a Bethesda game where you…lose gear, ships and bases you’ve acquired seems counter to the point of games like this.

Being Starborn does have some very minor story components, mainly new dialogue options since you know what’s going to happen or know things you shouldn’t about characters you previously met. It also lets you skip the entire main campaign.

There are some fun gags in there like you reset the universe and find Constellation gone and replaced with children. Or one of your squadmates turned evil and killed everyone. But either A) these worlds are actually unplayable or B) they’re weird at the start but let you keep playing the rest of the game as normal (sometimes with far fewer companion options as a result). It was mindblowing for a few minutes there when it was first discovered, but it was more a gag than a cool mechanic in the end.

If Bethesda decided to explore the Starborn concept more, I’d be all for that, because in its current form I don’t think it works especially well. We’ll see if this comes to pass, but as for this trademark? We need more than that.

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.