Starfield’s jail system will be “more like Skyrim than Fallout 4” devs say

According to Bethesda developers, Starfield features a jail system more akin to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim than Fallout 4’s Commonwealth.

To the chagrin of many players, Fallout 4 never received a proper prison system due to the understandable lack of organized law in the wasteland.

Committing crimes in Skyrim, however, results in the guilty party going to jail and serving a prison sentence – unless they find a way to break out, of course.

With Starfield’s launch on PC and Xbox right around the corner, fans can’t help but wonder what Bethesda has in store for spacefaring criminals.

Bethesda Softworks

Starfield developers confirm the game has a jail system

Starfield developers hosted a Discord Q&A on August 16 (via ResetEra user vixolus), wherein one fan asked how in-game systems will manage criminal activity.

Lead Quest Designer Will Shen noted there is indeed a jail system, explaining “Yes, you can elect to go to jail or pay a fine when you’re arrested (or even resist arrest and try to escape).”

Studio Design Director Emil Pagliarulo also responded, likening the world of Starfield to The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim in this regard. Pagliarulo’s full comment reads as follows,

“[Starfield’s] Settled Systems is more like Skyrim than Fallout 4’s Commonwealth in that regard. Ya bancha criminals! There’s civilization, there’s government, and there are laws. And in a couple [of] cases, we actually explore the themes of crime and punishment in our futuristic universe.”

Bethesda Softworks

Talk of Starfield’s newly confirmed jail system isn’t the only thing making the rounds. On top of hosting a Q&A session, Bethesda Game Studios also announced Starfield has officially gone gold.

As such, barring an unlikely last-minute delay, Bethesda’s newest adventure remains on track for its September 6 release date. Players can find out for themselves how exactly the jail system works in just a few weeks.