Starfield PS5: Which Edition Should You Buy?
Starfield launches on PlayStation 5 tomorrow, April 7, 2026, and if you haven’t pre-ordered yet, you’ve got a decision to make. There are two editions available, and the price gap between them is meaningful enough that it’s worth breaking down exactly what you get with each one.
I went with Standard. Here’s why, and here’s how to figure out which one makes sense for you.
The Standard Edition ($49.99)
The Standard Edition gets you the full base game of Starfield, which includes every update Bethesda has released since the original September 2023 launch on Xbox and PC. That means the REV-8 land vehicle, improved surface maps, the Free Lanes update with Cruise Mode and seamless planet-to-planet travel, and every quality-of-life fix that’s been patched in over the past two and a half years.
This is a complete game. You’re not getting a stripped-down version or a “lite” edition. The Free Lanes update alone is massive, adding new travel mechanics, the X-Tech resource system, new legendary gear ranks, Anchorpoint Station, the Database codex, shared outpost containers, new ship modules, and more. All of that is baked into the Standard Edition.
What you don’t get with the Standard Edition is any of the DLC. No Shattered Space. No Terran Armada. No Creation Credits.
The Premium Edition ($69.99)
The Premium Edition includes everything in the Standard Edition plus three extras.
First, you get the Shattered Space expansion. This was Starfield’s first major story DLC, originally released in 2024. It takes you to the hidden world of Va’Ruun’Kai, the homeworld of the House Va’Ruun faction. It’s a self-contained story with new quests, enemies, environments, and gear. Reviews were mixed when it launched, but it’s a solid chunk of additional story content that adds several hours of gameplay.
Second, you get the Terran Armada story DLC, which launches day one alongside the PS5 version. This is the new stuff. Terran Armada adds a new enemy faction with a robot army, a morally ambiguous robot companion named Delta, the Incursion combat system, new military-style weapons and gear, new ship parts, a pre-built outpost module, and a new location called New Babylon. It runs $9.99 if purchased separately.
Third, you get 1,000 Creation Credits. Creations is Bethesda’s mod marketplace built into the game, and the credits can be used to purchase official content like the Trackers Alliance bounty series (which costs 700 credits and includes seven bounty hunting missions) or community-created mods. On their own, 1,000 credits would cost you about $10.
So to math it out: Shattered Space would cost around $30 separately. Terran Armada is $9.99. Creation Credits are about $10. That’s roughly $50 worth of additional content for a $20 price bump over the Standard Edition.
The Value Comparison
Here’s where it gets interesting. When Starfield originally launched on Xbox and PC in September 2023, the Standard Edition was $69.99 and the Premium Edition was $99.99. PlayStation players are getting the Standard for $20 less and the Premium for $30 less than what early adopters paid.
The PS5 Standard Edition at $49.99 is already a better deal than what anyone has gotten from Starfield to date, because it includes all the updates and improvements that came after launch. The game at $50 in 2026 is significantly better than the game at $70 in 2023.
The Premium Edition at $69.99, the same price as the original base game, now gets you the base game plus two expansions plus mod credits. That’s the best value Starfield has ever offered.
So Which One Should You Buy?
If you know you’re going to spend serious time with Starfield, go Premium. The math is simple. You’re saving money compared to buying the DLC separately, you get the Trackers Alliance bounty content essentially free with the Creation Credits, and you have everything available from day one without needing to make additional purchases later.
If you’re on the fence about whether you’ll even like the game, the Standard Edition at $49.99 is a safe entry point. It’s the full experience with all the free updates. You can always grab the Premium Upgrade separately if you decide you want the expansions after putting some hours in. Bethesda has confirmed the Digital Premium Upgrade will be available for purchase, so you’re not locked out of anything by starting with Standard.
If storage space is your biggest concern, both editions are the same download. The DLC is included in the client regardless. Premium just unlocks access to it.
I went Standard Edition, digital. I tried Starfield on my Xbox Series S at launch and couldn’t get into it. Whether that was the game’s fault, my not liking the platform, or both, I’m not sure. I think I’ll end up liking this one a lot, and if that’s the case, then I’ll pick up the premium upgrade when I’m ready for it. But if I end up not liking the game, at least I saved $20 in the long run. I’ve made the mistake before of purchasing the DLC included high dollar version of a game I ended up not enjoying (Borderlands 4). I won’t do that again.
This is one of those rare situations where being late to the party actually works out.Regardless of edition, the game is better, cheaper, and comes with more content than it ever has. I’ll take that trade every time.
Agree, disagree, or think I got it completely wrong? Say so in the comments or over at our Vortex Effect forums.
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