# Starfield Premium Edition

> edition of the 2023 video game Starfield

**Wikidata**: [Q122216723](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q122216723)  
**Source**: https://4ort.xyz/entity/starfield-premium-edition

## Summary
Starfield Premium Edition is the enhanced retail bundle of Bethesda’s 2023 space-RPG Starfield, released on 1 September 2023. It packages the base game with a digital artbook, original soundtrack, and up-to-five-day early-access play time before the standard edition launch.

## Key Facts
- Publication date: 1 September 2023 (early-access window began 31 August 2023)
- Edition of: Starfield (Bethesda Game Studios, 2023)
- Instance of: video game edition (Q-class: video game edition)
- Fictional setting: Starfield universe
- GOG.com dreamlist ID: starfield-premium-edition-2023
- Official preorder page: https://bethesda.net/en/game/starfield/article/4BDnzduJQMiST4JXwqI8Pb/starfield-preorder-bonuses-early-access (English)

## FAQs
### Q: What extra content does the Premium Edition include?
A: It adds a digital artbook, the game’s original soundtrack, and access to the “Old Mars” bonus mission, plus early access up to five days before the global release.

### Q: When did Premium Edition owners start playing?
A: Pre-load began 28 August 2023; servers opened for Premium owners at 8 pm ET on 31 August 2023, giving a head-start ahead of the 6 September standard launch.

### Q: Is the Premium Edition a separate game client?
A: No—it is the same Starfield executable; early access is controlled by account entitlements on Steam, Xbox, and Windows Store.

## Why It Matters
Starfield Premium Edition is Bethesda’s first commercial test of tiered early-access on console and PC simultaneously. By gating play time behind a higher-priced SKU, the edition generated incremental revenue without fragmenting the player base, a model now copied by other AAA publishers. For players, it solved the “day-one server rush” problem by spreading load across nearly a week, while the bundled digital extras preserved the game’s cultural footprint—players share soundtrack tracks and artbook images, keeping Starfield in social-media conversation long after launch. Collectors value the edition because its entitlements are permanently tied to the account, ensuring that the soundtrack and artbook remain accessible even if the files are delisted. In the broader RPG landscape, Premium Edition’s success proved that single-player games can still monetize launch week without loot boxes or season passes.

## Notable For
- First Bethesda title to offer multi-day early access on both Xbox and PC ecosystems simultaneously
- GOG.com lists it under the unique slug “starfield-premium-edition-2023,” distinguishing it from later bundles
- Bundled digital extras are DRM-free within the client, allowing offline playback of soundtrack and high-resolution art
- Only edition that guaranteed access to the “Old Mars” mission at launch without further purchase
- Served as proof-of-concept for Microsoft’s policy allowing Game Pass subscribers to upgrade to Premium for early access

## Body
### Release Context
Starfield Premium Edition arrived on 1 September 2023 after a short early-access window that began 31 August 2023 at 8 pm ET. The staggered release was engineered to reduce server congestion and to reward higher-tier customers without creating a second executable SKU.

### Content Breakdown
Beyond the base game, the edition grants:
- Digital Artbook – 200-page PDF with concept art and developer notes
- Original Soundtrack – 80-plus tracks by Inon Zur, delivered as 320 kbit/s MP3 and lossless FLAC
- “Old Mars” Mission – a self-contained quest line accessible from the main menu once the game is installed
- Early Access Entitlement – a license flag that unlocks the game up to five calendar days before the standard edition

### Availability
The Premium Edition was sold as a digital entitlement on Steam, Xbox Store, and Windows Store, and as a physical code-in-box at retail. GOG.com added the title to its dreamlist database on 10 May 2025 under the stable ID “starfield-premium-edition-2023,” confirming its continued commercial visibility two years after launch.

## References

1. [Source](https://www.pcgamer.com/starfield-early-access/)
2. GOG Dreamlist