Starfield Premium owners now have full access to the game and are testing their internet download limits with its massive 120 GB file size. However, some hopeful gamers will have to wait regardless of how much they paid in advance. Currently, Intel Arc GPUs cannot play Starfield, with various issues such as the game not starting or presenting distorted textures after a long loading time of 30-40 minutes. Users have reported that the game's executable launches in the background, consuming up to 30 GB of system memory before crashing or finally showing the game menu. Even if players manage to reach gameplay, the game crashes to the desktop within a few minutes.
Intel acknowledged these issues shortly after advanced access began, but a quick fix is not expected. In a post by @IntelGraphics on X, they mentioned that they are working to improve the experience by the game's full release date on September 6th, which is roughly a week away. Many Arc owners expressed their dissatisfaction with this situation. Starfield is an AMD sponsored game, and both Bethesda and Microsoft have faced criticism for this. Some accusations have been made on platforms like Reddit and X, claiming that this sponsorship has prevented Intel's graphics division from developing usable drivers. However, no evidence has been presented to support these claims. It's worth noting that NVIDIA released a preliminary driver for Starfield as early as August 22nd, suggesting that such interference is unlikely.
Update: Intel has just released its Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4672 Beta, which adds support and fixes for Bethesda's Starfield game.
