To get early access to Starfield, you needed to buy one of the more expensive editions of the game that included a five‑day early access perk, not the Standard Edition or basic Game Pass access.

How early access worked

Early access for Starfield was a promotional perk tied to specific editions and upgrades, not a separate “early access build” like some live‑service games.

  • You could play up to 5 days before the official launch date if you qualified.
  • The perk was available on both Xbox and PC (Steam and other retailers) , as long as you bought the right edition or upgrade on that platform.

Think of it as buying a deluxe ticket that lets you into the theater a few days before everyone else.

Editions that granted early access

There were three main ways players got early access:

  1. Premium Edition (full game + extras)
    • Price was around 100 USD , more than the 70 USD Standard Edition.
 * Included:
   * The **base game**.

   * **Five days of early access**.

   * The **Shattered Space** story expansion (when released).

   * A **Constellation skin pack**.

   * A **digital art book** and **soundtrack**.
  1. Constellation Edition (collector’s physical box)
    • High‑end collector’s version (around 300 USD) with physical goodies.
 * Included everything in the Premium Edition (early access, expansion, bonus content) plus collector’s physical items.
  1. Premium Edition Upgrade (for Standard or Game Pass players)
    • If you already had the base game or planned to use Game Pass , you could buy a Premium Edition Upgrade (~35 USD mentioned in community discussions).
 * This upgrade:
   * Did **not** include the base game itself.

   * Unlocked **early access** plus the same bonus content (expansion entitlement, skin pack, art book, soundtrack).

 * You could combine it with:
   * A digital or physical **Standard Edition** purchase.

   * An **Xbox Game Pass** subscription for access to the base game.

Simple example

Someone on Xbox could:

  • Subscribe to Game Pass for the base game.
  • Buy the Premium Edition Upgrade.
  • Result: they paid less than a full Premium Edition but still got early access and all linked extras.

What did not give early access

A few common misconceptions popped up in forum discussions:

  • The Standard Edition alone did not come with early access.
  • Simply having Game Pass without the Premium Upgrade did not grant early access; you would play on the normal release date.
  • Pre‑ordering the Standard Edition by itself did not unlock early access; only Premium/Constellation or the Upgrade did.

On forums, users repeatedly asked whether buying Premium “late” would still give early access, highlighting how easy it was to misunderstand what actually unlocked those five days.

Mini FAQ and trend context

Was this a one‑time window?

Yes. Early access was a fixed window that opened 5 days before official launch for eligible buyers; after release, everyone with the game could play normally.

Why did it become such a trending topic?

  • Starfield was Bethesda’s big new IP, so fans were eager to start exploring early.
  • The combination of deluxe pricing + early access sparked a lot of debate on Reddit and other forums over whether paying extra for a few days was “worth it” or just a marketing move.

Many posts boiled down to: “Is it worth dropping extra cash just for five days?” with people weighing excitement against cost and FOMO.

HTML table: Editions and early access

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Edition / Option Includes Base Game? Early Access? Key Extras Notes
Standard Edition Yes No Base game only Cheapest, no early access.
Premium Edition Yes Yes (5 days) Shattered Space expansion, Constellation skin pack, digital art book, soundtrack Roughly 100 USD, digital or physical.
Constellation Edition Yes Yes (5 days) All Premium content plus collector’s physical items High‑price collectible box (around 300 USD).
Premium Edition Upgrade No (upgrade only) Yes (5 days) Same digital bonuses as Premium Edition Requires base game via purchase or Game Pass.
Game Pass only Yes (access while subscribed) No Base game access at launch Add Premium Upgrade to get early access and bonuses.

TL;DR

To get early access to Starfield, you had to either buy the Premium Edition , the Constellation Edition , or the Premium Edition Upgrade on top of the Standard Edition or Game Pass; the plain Standard Edition and basic Game Pass alone did not unlock any early access days.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.