Three years ago, Bethesda parent company ZeniMax filed a trademark application for something called “Starfield“. Three years later, and we’re all still clueless as to what it could be.
For context, the only reason anyone knows about Starfield is because of the trademark application. There have been no announcements, no news, no hints, no nothing.
Just as it was looking like time to put the whole thing to rest, ZeniMax have gone and filed a new trademark application for Starfield with the United States Patent & Trademark Office. Maybe they just think it’s a sick name and don’t want anyone else to have it?
This marks the fourth trademark that ZeniMax holds for Starfield. The previous three covered things like console games and various merchandise, but this new one specifically mentions mobile games.
This certainly lines up with some of the other stuff happening at Bethesda right now. The company behind the likes of Skyrim and Fallout 4 recently opened up an office in Canada that will work on mobile games in addition to console and PC projects.
Bethesda’s own Todd Howard has also said that the studio plan to make more mobile games, following the massive success of Fallout Shelter.
Then again, Bethesda have also been hiring for a brand new “bleeding edge” RPG. Starfield certainly sounds like a good name for a bleeding edge RPG. It also sounds like a good name for an 80’s glam metal band, but I doubt that’s what they have planned.
Of course, a trademark application is by no means a confirmation. It just means that ZeniMax are covering all their bases. For now, the mystery of Starfield continues.
Ewan Moore is a journalist at UNILAD Gaming who still quite hasn’t gotten out of his mid 00’s emo phase. After graduating from the University of Portsmouth in 2015 with a BA in Journalism & Media Studies (thanks for asking), he went on to do some freelance words for various places, including Kotaku, Den of Geek, and TheSixthAxis, before landing a full time gig at UNILAD in 2016.