[UPDATE] Bethesda Game Studios has now responded to the Starfield update 1.8.88 thread on Reddit to reveal plenty of details on the game's patch roadmap for next year.

　　To begin with, the developer will add AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 3 and Intel XeSS support in early 2024, as well as several “in-progress” quest fixes.

　　Moreover, the folks at BGS are working on city maps, native mod support, and 'all new ways of traveling'. Could that refer to some sort of vehicle to explore planets? Anyway, Bethesda is targeting a regular cadence of updates taking place roughly every six weeks, while smaller hotfixes like the one mentioned below will be sprinkled in between.

　　[ORIGINAL STORY] Bethesda Game Studios released a new Starfield update for all platforms (PC, Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X). Version 1.8.88 mainly fixes the well-known 'pet asteroid' bug, where an asteroid dutifully followed players everywhere they went in space.

　　GAMEPLAY:

　　Addressed an issue that would cause space matter to become stuck to player's ship during space travel. Loading a save will now remove the space clingon. Please note: This fix should address any space matter being stuck in your travels, but not in instances where player ships have New Atlantis attached. A fix for that will be released in a later update.OUTPOST:

　　Fixed an issue that prevents random guns from spawning in a newly created Weapon Case after loading a save.SAVE/LOAD:

　　[MSS/Xbox] Fixed an issue where players could experience crashes while saving during long playthroughs without going through the Unity.This is obviously a minor update. The previous Starfield update added major features, such as NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution, Frame Generation, Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing, and Reflex Low Latency, in late November. Moreover, the developer introduced several CPU (renderer threading model) and GPU optimizations that improved the game's PC performance on high-end PC configurations, restoring the traditional balance of power between AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards. On the gameplay side, Bethesda added the ability to eat food wherever you find it in the world and adjusted the stealth system to be more forgiving.

　　The developers didn't share yet any news on what will be included in the next major patch. However, players are certainly eager to get the full-fledged modding tools at some point in 2024.

　　Meanwhile, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer revealed that Starfield has surpassed 12 million players. The goal of Microsoft and Bethesda is to keep it alive for as long as The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, so we should expect a lot of updates over the years.