Starfield map – every location on the Starmap explained

Looking for a Starfield map? You’re making a wise decision. If there is one thing we can be certain about when it comes to Bethesda Studio’s upcoming space exploration RPG, it’s scale. Starfield is going to be massive.

With over 1000 Starfield planets in-game, players are going to need all the help they can get navigating the Settled Systems and beyond. We’ll cover everything we’ve seen of the Starfield map so far, and explain what we know about how it works, what it means, and what all of its locations are.

Starfield map explained

The Starfield map, or Starmap as it’s called in-game, is your navigation guide for the many star systems you’ll be able to explore. The map actually has a few different layers to it, which we’ll cover now quickly. Keep in mind that we don’t know everything about it just yet. When the game releases onto Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC later this year, we’ll be sure to update this guide with the relevant details.

Planet map

This is the smallest focus of the starmap that isn’t just a planetside location. While on the planet map, you’ll be zoomed out to an overview screen of a whole planet or moon. From here, you’ll be able to access all sorts of general date about the world you’re on. You’ll also be able to see (and presumably fast travel to) points of interest. We’ve seen this on display in gameplay trailers. The likes of Porrima IV-c, Gagarin and the moon of Vectera have been showcased in this way, among others.

We’ve seen a handful of planets displayed in this way so far, such as Jemison, home of New Atlantis and capital of the United Colonies faction. There could be additional functionalities to this view, but at the moment, this is all we know about it.

System map

Zoom out further, and you’ll get to the System Map. From this view, you’ll have a full overview of the star system you’re in. This will show you the main star or stars of the system, as well as all the planets and moons that you can visit. It won’t give you specific information about planetary features, but key locations in the system, such as quest locations, should still appear. You’ll also be able to click onto any star, planet or moon from this view to bring up the planet map, or zoom out further to get to the starmap.

Starmap

Just called the Starmap to the best of our knowledge, this is the widest view of Starfield’s UI that you can you can go to. Some have refered to it just as the Starfield Galaxy Map, which is also an apt description. From here, you’ll be able to see all the star systems in the game’s map, how they connect to each other, and where they are in relation to each other.

You’ll be able to make calculations for your flight plans across the stars in-game, and adventure from Sol to Alpha Centauri and beyond. We currently know that reaching distant systems will require technological and equipment upgrades to your starship. This may mean that you need to make progress in the main quest, or at least a good number of side quests, before you can dive into hours of exploration at the fringes of known space and set foot on distant planet landscapes.

Unfortunately, we haven’t had the chance to see the full star map yet, but the image above shows you a glimpse of what part of it looks like. It’s unclear if the layout will be rotatable in 3D, though given that this falls outside of Bethesda’s usual mapstyle, it does seem unlikely.

Though we don’t have an official full starfield map, we do have an idea of what it might look like. A Reddit user by the name of I_need_a_fast_horse went to the trouble of reverse engineering everything of the starmap we’ve seen so far to extrapolate an estimation for what the starmap looks like. While it’s unlikely to be fully accurate, it gives a good sense of what we might expect the full map to be.

How big is the Starfield map?

The Starfield map is likely the largest map we’ve seen from a Bethesda game to date, inviting platers to explore a truly vast galaxy. While the Elder Scrolls: Skyrim and the Fallout series are both known for impressive map size, no previous games have aimed for such ambitious scope.

As we’ve seen on display in Starfield gameplay footage, showcases, and various Starfield trailers from Todd Howard and the team, there will more than 1000 planets, and estimated to be more than 100 star systems to visit come September. This is made possible largely by significant use of procedural generation to create terrain, creatures, and other elements of each new world. Developers then handcraft additional features, structures, and ambient Starfield missions to populate the square miles of terrain and create a truly explorable planet.

On a more macro scale, we don’t yet have a clear idea of layout. It’s unclear exactly how territories will be divided, or what other big features might influence your approach to exploration. That said, we still know enough to make some good guesses.

Starfield map layout

The centre of the Starmap is likely going to be the Settled Systems. This is the area within which most of human civilisation exists, representing all the major settlements in-game. You’ll probably find our solar system and Earth at its epicentre. You’ll find all the main Starfield factions here, and much of the action. If you’re looking for Starfield companions or Starfield crew members, you’ll probably be wanting to look around this area of space. We also know that the bulk, or at the very least the start, of the Starfield story and plot will take place within the Settled Systems.

Beyond these central systems, you’ll have the Outer Systems (this isn’t an official name). The Outer Systems are what make up the majority of those 1000 planets, and most of them are barren. This does mean that they’re rich in natural resources, so if you’re looking to make Starfield credits easily, mining out here is a good way to go about it. You’ll find smaller factions and pirates dotted around too, but for the most part, these areas are relatively empty. This does make them perfect locations for establishing your own galactic presence though as you set up Starfield outposts. There will still be plenty to do on many of these worlds though.

Content distribution

Content-wise, we know that while the core systems will host the main story, the Outer Systems will utilise procedural generation and automated systems with a mixture of developer created content. There is a lot of handcrafting and plenty of hours to be found even on distant worlds. Each will still strive to have a different story, even if not entirely unique. Repeated ambient Starfield missions and recombined assets will strive to create similar but special objectives and quests on many worlds. Even though these aren’t all going to be wholly unique, it’ll give players much more to do.

Starfield map locations

Of course, we don’t know all of the locations in Starfield yet, so this part of the guide will likely grow leading up to and following the Starfield release date. For now though, here are all the major locations we know about on the Starfield map so far:

Star System	System Planets & Moons	System Key Features	Factions present
Alpha Centauri	Jemison, Gagarin, Olivas, Chawla	New Atlantis, Constellation HQ, Space Station LO-868	United Colonies, Constellation
Cheyenne	Akila	Akila City	Freestar Collective, Crimson Fleet
Sol	Earth, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, Io, Saturn, Neptune, Uranus, Pluto	Cydonia City, Mars Mech Factory	United Colonies
Volii	Volii Alpha	Neon City, The Volii Hotel	Ryujin Industries, Xenofresh Corporation, Freestar Collective
Porrima	Porrima I, Porrima III, Porrima IV, Porrima IV-c, Porrima V	The Red Mile	Unknown

That covers everything we know about the Starfield map so far. We’ll be sure to keep this updated as we learn more. In the meantime, make sure you’re caught up on the other basics of the game. If you want to learn more about the Starfield character creator for example, we’ve got you covered.

How big is Starfield?

Starfield is confirmed to have over 1000 visitable planets and around 100 star systems.

How do I travel to distant systems in Starfield?

To travel to distant star systems, you need to upgrade your starship’s systems and technology. You may need to hire additional crew to facilitate this.