Summary

• Starfield's Shattered Space DLC releases this September.
• The DLC focuses on House Va'ruun, and is expected to introduce new planets, enemies, and equipment.
• Shattered Space centers on horror elements, player agency, and new options for the fate of House Va'ruun.

The release date for free update for Starfield, which introduces driveable land vehicles to the game's expansive, open-world planets.

Shattered Space is much more expansive than that update, however, bringing new planets, new equipment, new enemies, and a new chapter of the Starfield story to the table. And it's coming out sooner than most players expected. Here's everything to know about Shattered Space ahead of its release this fall.

Starfield: Shattered Space DLC - Release Date & Price

When Does Shattered Space Come Out, & How Much Does It Cost?

Starfield's Shattered Space DLC will be released on September 30, 2024, just over a month after its initial release date announcement. It'll be available on the same day across all platforms where Starfield is currently available: PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Unfortunately, Shattered Space is not free for current Starfield owners. Shattered Space will cost $29.99 USD on all platforms, and can already be pre-purchased via Steam or the Xbox store. Game subscribers don't have access to the DLC without paying, either; if they want to play Shattered Space, they'll have to buy it like everyone else.

Shattered Space is free with versions of Starfield that include the first DLC, namely the and

Constellation editions.

Starfield: Shattered Space DLC - New Story Details

Shattered Space & House Va'Ruun

Shattered Space is known to center on House Va'ruun, a mysterious religious sect with a surprisingly outsize presence in Starfield's base game. In Starfield, players mostly only experience House Va'ruun secondhand through random encounters with its mercenaries, and conversations with Andreja, a fellow Constellation member and former Va'ruun adherent running across space away from her past religion doesn't really matter in Starfield.

Shattered Space attempts to rectify this by giving the player character and House Va'ruun more active roles in one another's continued existence. Like many Starfield side quests, it begins with a stray distress signal that reaches the player, calling them to an apparently abandoned star station that shouldn't exist. Inside, they find people and artifacts mysteriously floating, while ghosts of the past call out and serpentine forms wind themselves around every available surface.

With all this, Shattered Space seems to inject a horror element into Starfield. There's a lot of exploring old, derelict stations full of long-dead spacers, and the final shot of the announcement trailer shows the player character looking down at a room full of rows and rows of what appear to be cryogenic sleep pods - and they're all occupied.

Eventually, players will likely come upon the founding site of House Va'ruun, on the planet Va'ruun'kai. They'll have opportunities to submit to the Great Serpent and grow closer to the sect, or presumably run afoul of devout Va'ruunians, and find themselves fighting to survive. Player agency is expected to play a major role in the DLC, with their decisions ultimately determining whether the Va'ruunian faith survives. An ethereal, whispering voice in the trailer also directs the player to "save Anasko," and "restore the Citadel," referencing one of the founding fathers of House Va'ruun and the religion's original headquarters. Exactly who's giving these directives, and what Anasko needs saving from, remain to be seen.

Starfield: Shattered Space - New Gameplay Mechanics

New Enemies, Vehicular Combat, & DIalogue Options

Besides the story, Shattered Space is expected to introduce a variety of new gameplay mechanics to Starfield. Players can expect to find new weapons, equipment, and ship modules on their journeys through House Va'ruun space, although exactly how these will work remains to be seen. And they'll need those to face off against Shattered Space's new enemies. Buffalo-like beasts and ghostly insectoid aliens can be seen in early trailers. The introduction of various people and places surrounding House Va'ruun will also likely mean new mercenary factions for players to contend with.

Beyond that, the REV-8 land rover vehicle isn't just a way for players to get from point A to point B - it's also equipped for vehicular combat. This isn't strictly a Shattered Space change, but it'd be a shame for the DLC not to give players ample opportunity to try out their new toys. There will likely be plenty of encounters that are best resolved with the REV-8's mounted guns and increased maneuverability and that'll go along with the introduction of a hand-crafted (i.e., not procedurally generated) new world for players to explore.

In addition, Shattered Space may make religion feel more impactful by providing a wealth of new dialogue options for House Va'ruun-d (and House Va'ruun-opposed) player characters. Players will encounter Va'ruun faithfuls on their home turf - presenting themselves as pilgrims instead of intruders might go over more smoothly, and allow them to avoid combat, or skip certain mission segments. The extent of these new choices will only be revealed after launch, when players first delve into Starfield's story and begin experimenting with the choices they're presented.

For now, that's everything to know about Shattered Space - more information may be revealed closer to launch, but with that day fast approaching, this may be as much as there is to know prior to release. This first DLC seems to represent a massive expansion to the Starfield universe, and gives players plenty of opportunities to explore new options and features in a unique region of space. With its new story chapters and uniquely terrifying concept, Shattered Space may prove game-changing for the already-expansive world of Starfield.