Starfield is seeing a resurgence this week thanks to a variety of factors. Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG has finally arrived on PlayStation 5, while also releasing the Terran Armada story expansion for $9.99 (it’s also included in the current Premium Edition on PS5 and the Premium Upgrade on all platforms). And then there’s the new Free Lanes update, which changes the game like never before.

The official patch notes for the Free Lanes update includes a number of fixes, quality-of-life improvements, and needed changes. It’s just the latest in a line of update and DLCs that have worked to make Starfield a much better game since it launched in 2023. And while there are a number of key features to be excited about, there’s one change in Free Lanes in particular that has fans hyped (and a little skeptical) over on Reddit.

Starfield Has Added In Way More POIs

The part in question is with regard to the variety of POIs in Starfield. POIs, or points-of-interest, were a hot topic when the RPG launched in 2023, as many players felt there simply weren’t enough. Compared to other Bethesda games like Skyrim, for example, Starfield only had a fraction.

Now, the Free Lanes update has added in even more POIs: “There are also tons of new space POIs to discover as you travel in Cruise Mode. You’ll see them dynamically pop up, and you can change your destination on the fly to automatically head to one of these POIs, or you can just keep on moving toward your original destination,” read the patch notes.

The Free Lanes update isn’t the first time the game has gotten more POIs. Shattered Space DLC added more POIs, for example, when it released in 2024. However, this does seem to be the biggest POI addition to date (and new space POIs are always welcome). Still, fans aren’t quite convinced.

Not Everyone Is Convinced By The New Update

Custom Image by: Katarina Cimbaljevic

The primary concern is over repeats when it comes to POIs. Quite a few users on Reddit are skeptical that these new POIs will start to accumulate duplicates quickly. A number of them shared complaints with the game and weren’t convinced the Free Lane update will wholly fix this issue.

However, some folks seem pretty optimistic about the whole thing: “Someone has already gone searching for repeating POIs, and said that in 3 hours of deliberate searching, they have found no repeats,” noted one user.

“Hopefully this is accurate,” reads one of the responses. “I plan to start over today and the last time I played the first two bases I went to were the exact same, and it really killed the immersion.”

Free Lanes has added in a lot of needed improvements, and additional POIs is certainly one of the features we needed most. It’s understandable that so many Starfield fans are excited but cautious about this, but it’s a good sign that a couple days into the update being out, repeated POIs haven’t been a major issue.

Systems

Released

September 6, 2023

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ / Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases

Engine

proprietary engine