Preload Starfield On Xbox Today, PC On Aug. 30

Microsoft Corp.'s MSFT highly anticipated space-based RPG, Starfield, has reached the "gold" stage, indicating that it has passed certification and is nearly ready for release in both physical and digital formats.

Xbox users can start preloading (downloading the game in advance) on Aug. 17, while PC players (via Steam) will need to wait until Aug. 30 for the download.

This will allow players to have the game ready to play one to three weeks ahead of its official Sept. 6 launch date.

The news was announced by developer Bethesda Game Studios (a subsidiary of Xbox Game Studios) via Twitter: "Prepare for launch," the studio's official account wrote.

There's a possibility that some users might try to play the game early by manipulating time zones, a trick that was used before with other titles. This doesn't always work and might result in being locked out of the game.

Starfield's vast world, featuring more than 1,000 explorable planets, has players excited for the game's release, and Xbox has said that it is one of the "most important RPGs ever made."

In June (three months before release), Xbox claimed the upcoming game already had fewer bugs compared to previous Bethesda titles like Skyrim and Fallout 4.

"We have an awful lot of people internally playing Starfield, working with Todd and the team," Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty said in an interview with the podcast Giant Bomb.

"I see bug counts and just by the numbers if it shipped today, Starfield would already have the fewest bugs of any Bethesda game ever shipped."

Photo: Courtesy Xbox.com