The Free Lanes update and Terran Armada story DLC are not Starfield 2.0, but do enough for base game fans

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Since its 2023 release, Starfield has received varied reactions, though it still has a dedicated fanbase. Many hoped the game would experience a major turnaround like other recently revitalized big-budget titles. While the upcoming Free Lanes update and Terran Armada DLC are significant, Bethesda wants to make it clear they won’t be a complete overhaul of the game. Instead, these updates will provide valuable improvements and new content for both existing and new players.

Note: There will be spoilers for Starfield’s new game plus in this article.

On April 7th, Starfield will release two major updates alongside its PlayStation 5 debut. The Terran Armada pack, available for $10, adds new story missions, while the free “Free Lanes” update will be available to all players. These updates are designed to reward longtime fans with fresh content. During a recent preview event, Starfield’s Creative Director, Tim Lamb, explained that the updates, especially Free Lanes, were developed based on player feedback and build upon the existing game.

The recent media event highlighted Free Lanes and upcoming features for all Starfield players, including some exciting additions centered around a new resource called X-tech. You can spend X-tech in several ways, but the most notable is adding Legendary modifiers to your weapons and gear. These modifiers have been improved with a new quality level, and you can reroll them up to five times. After that, the game lets you choose the modifier you want, greatly enhancing weapon customization and preparing you for challenging dungeons.

The new Ship Optimization system lets you use X-Tech to improve different parts of your ship, like weapons, cargo, and repairs. This will make those areas perform better overall. While it wasn’t completely clear how much of a difference this will make while playing, the idea itself is promising.

Starfarers who prefer a more relaxed experience will also find improvements in Free Lanes’ outposts and customization options. You can now deploy a fully built and decorated outpost instantly, perfect for enjoying the scenery. And if you’re looking to spend some credits, you can now purchase your very own private asteroid base, complete with a swimming pool – seriously!

Longtime players will be especially excited about the new shared outpost container. You can build this at any of your outpost stations, and it works like the shared storage chests from the Resident Evil series. This means you can deposit items at one outpost and access them from any other outpost that has the container!

Want to really personalize your outposts? Now you can collect action figures! Inspired by Fallout, Starfield features 27 collectible figures, similar to the Vault Boy series. You can choose to keep them in their original packaging or display them on action figure stands. Best of all, finding these figures will actually give your character helpful bonuses!

I’m so excited about the new Moon Jumper vehicle coming soon! It’s a bigger, more robust rover designed to help us explore beyond our bases and tackle those really dangerous planets. It has jump jets, so you can actually hop and fly around – it totally reminds me of the Mako from Mass Effect, although sadly, it doesn’t look like it’ll have a huge cannon on top! Still, being able to easily traverse tricky terrain is going to be a game changer.

If you’ve finished the main story in Starfield, you know the game doesn’t actually end when the credits roll. Many players consider that to be when the real game begins, as your character enters the Unity and starts a new playthrough. To make subsequent runs more enjoyable, a new item called the Quantum Entanglement Device lets you carry over stored items. You can even increase your storage space using Quantum Essence. So, that amazing, customized weapon you spent time building? You can take it with you and start your next adventure with a powerful advantage.

While the new additions are cool, I kept wondering if they’ll bring back lapsed players. It seems like this update is mostly for dedicated fans who have already spent a lot of time with the game. The base version costs $50, and the premium version is $70, which might attract some people. However, a lot of the new features, like X-Tech and the Quantum Essence system, won’t really become useful until you’re far into the game. Personally, the new Free Lanes and Terran Armada content aren’t enough to make me want to start playing again, but I can definitely see why longtime fans will be excited about this update.

When asked if the game was essentially a sequel, or “Starfield 2.0”, Tim strongly disagreed. He explained they hadn’t aimed for a complete overhaul, but instead focused on improving existing features based on player feedback and community interest. While not a “2.0” version, the game has received significant improvements and a wealth of new content, making it the best version of Starfield yet. Tim believes Starfield has truly become a game driven by player choices, and the recent additions of Free Lanes and The Terran Armada really highlight that experience.

Starfield is now playable on Xbox Series and PC. It will arrive on PlayStation 5 on April 7th. Alongside the PS5 launch, a free update called Free Lanes and a downloadable expansion pack, Terran Armada, will be released on April 7th for all platforms.

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2026-03-17 18:29