Starbound is an action-adventure game created by Chucklefish in 2016. The game is set in a two-dimensional world that is randomly created each time players begin a new game. Players can explore this world to find new weapons, armor, and items, and to visit towns and villages populated by different types of creatures. The game was officially released in July 2016 for Windows, OS X, and Linux. It became available on Windows through Xbox Game Pass in December 2020. Later, it was released for Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S in October 2024.

Synopsis

Starbound starts with the player inside a spacecraft after Earth is destroyed. Earth was the home of a group called the Terrene Protectorate, which worked to keep peace across the galaxy. The player has just finished training with this group. Without any guidance, the spacecraft moves through space without direction and becomes lost among the stars. The spacecraft then orbits a planet that can support life, and an adventure begins. Players explore the universe, completing quests and following story-based missions hidden within the game's large open world. The spacecraft serves as the player's vehicle, featuring a teleport pad to travel to planets, a storage area for items, a panel to refuel the ship, and a cockpit to control the spacecraft. The inside of the ship can also be customized, allowing players to place items and blocks freely.

Gameplay

The game uses automatic creation to generate many elements, such as items, enemies, and planets, to offer a wide range of content. Players can complete story-based missions and quests, explore the game world freely, fight enemies, and change the environment's landscape. The type of character the player has is determined by the items they are wearing.

Players can grow and sell crops, build structures, and collect rent from non-player characters (NPCs) who live in those buildings.

In update 1.0, a story was added to the game. The story involves exploring freely to scan specific items, such as human items, and then completing a story dungeon to defeat a boss.

In update 1.3 [UNSTABLE], mechs were added to the game. Mechs are customizable, allowing players to attach different weapons and tools, such as guns, shields, and drills. Players can also attach different bodies to mechs, which affect the mech's energy and health levels. A primary use of mechs is to explore outer space areas, such as asteroid fields and spaceships.

Development

Starbound was introduced by Chucklefish director Finn Brice in February 2012. A pre-order system, similar to Kickstarter, opened on the Humble Store on April 13, 2013. People could choose from different options, such as buying the game, joining a beta test, downloading the soundtrack, or earning rewards like naming a character, designing a hat or weapon, or having a statue of themselves added to the game. Within 24 hours, more than 10,000 people supported the game, raising over $230,000 to help develop it.

By May 2013, the pre-order had met all three of its funding goals, raising over $1,000,000. The game entered an early access beta on Steam on December 4, 2013, with more than $2,000,000 in pre-orders before its full release. Starbound was created using the C++ programming language and a custom game engine. The soundtrack was written by American composer Curtis Schweitzer. The game officially left early access and was fully released on July 22, 2016. In 2013, it was announced that the game would later be made available for the Xbox One.

On August 28, 2024, Chucklefish shared news that an early playtest for the console version was available on the Xbox Insider App until September 4. They also said the Xbox version was "finally almost ready to launch." The Xbox edition officially launched on October 24, 2024.

In 2019, Chucklefish faced accusations that they used around a dozen unpaid contributors during Starbound’s development. Some contributors worked hundreds of hours without pay and did tasks similar to those of paid team members. Many of them were teenagers who said they felt their lack of experience was used unfairly by Finn Brice. Former team members, including game developer Toby Fox, supported these claims. Chucklefish responded by stating that contributors were not required to create content, meet deadlines, or work specific hours, and that everyone was credited or paid according to their agreements. The contributors disagreed, saying they were required to meet deadlines. They clarified that their concerns were about the fairness of their treatment, not whether it was legal.

Reception

Starbound received good reviews when it was first released, according to Metacritic, a website that collects video game reviews. IGN praised Starbound's game features, such as crafting, exploration, and combat, and compared it to Terraria. Christopher Livingston from PC Gamer said Starbound was a fun space sandbox game that would keep players entertained for many hours. Nathan Grayson from Kotaku complimented the game's exploration elements, describing the universe as "weird and hard to predict," which would keep players interested for a long time.

By December 2016, Starbound had sold more than 2.5 million copies.

In 2013, Starbound was chosen as the most expected game of the year by Indie Game Magazine.