Starfield’s Cut Content Explained

Despite some divisiveness regarding its open-world execution and various technical issues, Bethesda’s Starfield has captivated with its expansive universe, deep exploration, and intricate role-playing mechanics. However, like many large-scale games, Starfield had plenty of content cut from it ahead of its release.

Included in the content ultimately cut from Starfield were weapons, a companion, a trait, skills, and magazines. There is no clear reason as to why this content was cut from the game, or whether keeping it in the game might have helped it to succeed more in the end. Nevertheless, Starfield apparently took some substantial blows before leaving the cutting room.

Everything Cut From Starfield

Several Settlements Didn’t Make It Into Starfield’s Final Cut

Among Starfield‘s most prominent cuts are several locations that never made it into the final cut of the Settled Systems. These locations included a handful of Settlements, as well as other minor locations that would have been found within the major cities on Starfield‘s planets.

The Settlements that were ultimately cut from Starfield include:

• Azure Brook Farms
• Chandra Vineyard
• Cody’s Hill
• Bautista Fellowship

Azure Brook Farms was originally a farm planned to appear on Jemison in the Alpha Centauri system, where New Atlantis is located. According to some unused companion dialogue referencing the place, it was a very prosperous location, with Sarah Morgan even saying she would like to retire there some day. Chandra Vineyard was, as its name suggests, intended to be the elusive vineyard for Chandra Wine, which players can find in the game. The vineyard was originally intended to be a location on Maheo I in the Maheo system, where Sonny di Falco’s Estate is located.

There is also seemingly an unused faction with Chandra Vineyard, though there are no members associated with it.

Cody’s Hill was a fairly large settlement initially planned to be located on Polvo in the Valo system, the same planet where HopeTown is located in the final game. In Cody’s Hill, players would have been able to find Barton’s General Store, Cody’s Hill Saloon, McCord’s Workshop, Pickett’s House, and Ruiz House, each of which had interiors designed before they were cut. There were also several NPCs players would have been able to encounter in Cody’s Hill, including Bethany, Jim, Aliza, Chance, Shane, Casey, and the Ruiz family. Finally, as with Chandra Vineyard, Cody’s Hill had a faction associated with it.

Bautista Fellowship, unlike the other cut settlements, was intended to be a starstation, though the planet it was supposed to orbit is unknown. Unused companion dialogue about the location indicates it was filled with intelligent NPCs, and would have been a place where players could have found plenty of scientists.

Plenty of smaller locations were also cut from Starfield ahead of release, including an apartment called labeled “Apollo Tower, Floor 3,” a temporary interior for Aggie’s, an unused interior for the Coe Heritage Museum, an early version of the Shaw Gang Camp called the “Locke Gang Hideout,” an older version of Cydonia’s Central Hub, a potential hideout for the Disciples labeled “Euphorika,” a copy of Neon’s Terrabrew Coffee Store, a massive building with multiple stories labeled “Executive House” and another similar location called “Grath Estate,” the Arches Overlook Apartment for lawyer Ellie Yankton, and an older version of Red Mile’s interior space.

Starfield Had a Handful of Dialogue Cut From the Game

As there is with most dialogue-heavy games, Starfield had a handful of dialogue cut ahead of its release, most of which involves quests with House Va’ruun. This is one of the more well-known cuts Starfield experienced, which is largely what made Starfield‘s Shattere Space DLC so important, as it delved deeper into the mysterious faction.

Starfield dialogue for an NPC named Ramesh Thenua, who was possibly a robot, was cut from the game. Another NPC called Alexei Soblokov had dialogue cut from the game, with dialogue suggesting his role as the proprietor of a cut ship fighting arena called the “C.E.C.” An NPC named Samara Qasim was also cut from Starfield ahead of release, and it appears this particular NPC was a host at the cut ship fighting arena. Yet another cut NPC related to the cut ship fighting arena is Debbie Walker, who was intended to be the receptionist for the arena. Based on her dialogue, she didn’t seem to enjoy her job very much, but she apparently enjoyed the sport.

Even more cut dialogue shows an NPC called “CEC Superfan,” who was presumably supposed to be a spectator in the cut ship fighting arena.

One Weapon Was Cut From Starfield Before Release

While not as extensive as the location and dialogue cuts, there was also a weapon cut from Starfield ahead of its release. A flamethrower that can be seen on a Combatech magazine in the game was originally obtainable as a weapon but was cut for unknown reasons.

A Major Companion Never Made It Into Starfield’s Final Cut

Starfield has plenty of companions for players to recruit as they progress through the game’s story, but there was apparently one additional companion planned for the game that never made it into Starfield‘s final cut. The companion, named Azami, was intended to be a Constellation companion, alongside Sarah, Barrett, Andreja, and Sam, and an unused decal suggests the character might have had fibre optic hair.

Starfield Left Behind Two Unused Traits Before Release

Starfield‘s Traits didn’t manage to make it through the development process unscathed either, as two Traits were cut before the game was released. The two traits, Monogamous and Polyamorous, have no information associated with them. However, their names suggest they would have limited or expanded the player’s romantic options.

Some Skills Were Never Used in Starfield

There were also two Starfield skills that were never used in the game, one called “Mindfulness” and another called “Textiles.” Mindfulness would have reduced EM damage, with its highest rank even reflecting that damage back at the attacker. Textiles, on the other hand, directly affected crafting quality, with its highest rank providing a chance for players not to use resources when crafting.

Several Planned Magazines Didn’t Survive the Cutting Room Floor

Several planned magazines for Starfield also never made the cut, as well as various magazine covers that were never used. Among the covers never used were two for Constellation Spacefarer’s Guide, and while all five issues of Tracker’s Primer use the same cover, each issue was originally intended to have its own unique cover.

One unused magazine was Colonization Guide, which would have unlocked new features for Starfield‘s outposts with each issue collected — 10 issues in total. However, it can be assumed that this was ultimately cut to make Starfield‘s outpost feature more accessible. Enhance! Your Life! was another magazine that was cut from the game before release, which would have given players access to new features at Enhance! stores throughout the Settled Systems with each of its 5 issues.

Several planned magazines for
Starfield
also never made the cut, as well as various magazine covers that were never used.

Experimental Starship Schematic would have unlocked special ship parts for Starfield‘s ship customization when players collected each of its 10 schematics. Lastly, UC Navigator Corp Star Chart was originally planned to reveal special points of interest to the player with each issue collected, of which there were 5. It’s uncertain whether these locations made it into the final game or if they were left out altogether.

A Couple of Other Oddities Were Left Out of Starfield’s Final Cut

There were also some rather odd and unexplained exclusions from Starfield‘s final cut, including two snow globes that are in the game but have no books or quests related to them. They are also not counted by the game as part of the full collection of snow globes in Starfield, despite them technically being a part of it. The two snow globes in question are the Cydonia Snow Globe and the Tower of Pisa Snow Globe. Additionally, a ship called the “ECS Constant Shuttle” can be found on Bardeen I if players happen to land near it, but there is no reference to it within the game.