While Starfield may fall under the designation of science fiction, eagle-eyed fans of the upcoming Xbox game have spotted a very real piece of space-faring history in the recent Starfield Direct. And it could indicate further nods to real-world space exploration will be referenced throughout the full Starfield length.
In our current timeline, the Curiosity rover has been traversing Mars for over a decade. Having launched back in late 2011, the car-sized machine has spent its life so far canvassing the Martian environment to not only ascertain if it had ever supported life, but if it still contains the chemical building blocks of it if so.
In Starfield, however, Redditors have found Curiosity perched in Constellation’s New Atlantis base, having clearly completed its mission at an unknown point between the game’s timeline and our own. As we’ve learned, the fictitious Starfield city of Cydonia is one of the first established by humanity, and is based on Mars. In the game’s universe, Mars’ surface was seemingly deemed inhospitable – be it as a result of Curiosity’s mission or otherwise – with most of the settlement reaching beneath its surface.
With Curiosity making an appearance, then, there’s a very good chance that more 21st Century tech could crop up on the various Starfield planets, or floating around in space. We can’t imagine that players will find too much of it beyond our solar system outside of the odd trinket, though.
You can see Curiosity’s cameo at around the 8:20 mark in the direct below.
If you’re curious about Curiosity, and have yet to do so, make sure you get your Starfield pre-orders in ahead of the Starfield release date. That’s unless you’re playing on Game Pass, of course.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.