Starfield could release in March 2023 if the stars align

techradar.com:

Starfield could make its appearance as early as March, 2023 – the signs are all there. 

Originally set for a November 11 launch, Bethesda broke the news that the Starfield release date is getting pushed back to 2023. Specifically, the first half of next year. But internet sleuths have pegged March 3, 2023 as a likely candidate.

Talking about the delay and purported state of the game in his Bethesda-centric podcast Kingscast(opens in new tab), host KingFanMan explains his theory. Pointing to the company's previous game delays and circumstances around each of them, he builds a pretty convincing case.   

«In all of Bethesda's history...they've only delayed three games,» KingFanMan explains. He's referring to Morrowind, Oblivion, and mobile title, Blades.

First up is Morrowind. The title was set to debut on Xbox in November, 2001 (via GameSpot(opens in new tab))  but was pushed back to May 1, 2002. KingFanMan cites issues with the game engine, which was reportedly giving Bethesda a few troubles. While he names the Creation Engine, Morrowind actually utilised the NetImmerseengine. 

Not long after Morrowind's release, NetImmerse became Gamebryo when engine creator Numerical Design Limited merged with Emergent Game Technologies. It's fair to assume that that KingFanMan misspoke and that getting to grips with a new engine might cause a few hiccups.

After that was Oblivion. This next installment in The Elder Scrolls series was due to release on November 22, 2005. It ended up launching on March 21, 2006. As stated at the time, Bethesda needed «additional development time to ensure the title meets gamers' high expectations for this popular franchise,» (via Eurogamer(opens in new tab)).

As well as changes to the engine, Oblivion also