Va'ruun'kai awaits.
The first expansion for Bethesda Game Studios' science-fiction role-playing game Starfield is now here, coming just over a year after the base game launched. Titled Shattered Space, this expansion cleaves closer to the design philosophy of past Bethesda titles like Fallout and The Elder Scrolls, taking place entirely in one location.
This isn't a separate launcher, but is instead woven into the main game, meaning you can't just pick Starfield up for the first time and immediately play it. Don't worry though, follow my guide and you'll be observing the terrors of House Va'ruun before long. Here's how to start Starfield: Shattered Space on Xbox and Windows PC.
How to start Starfield: Shattered Space
First off, you'll want to make sure you actually own the Shattered Space expansion for Starfield.
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If you have the Premium Edition of the game, then you've got it. If you only bought the Standard Edition of Starfield, or you're playing through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass, then you'll need to buy the Premium Upgrade.
Once you own Starfield: Shattered Space, make sure you've got it installed. It's around a 15GB download. There's also a separate update that must also be installed.
Finally, hop into the game. In order to embark on the new questline, you'll have to have completed the main story mission called One Small Step. After that, you simply need to take a Grav Jump somewhere in the galaxy that is not a main mission or random encounter. Exactly when that part triggers is out of your control, but make a couple of jumps and you'll eventually get one. When you do, you'll suddenly encounter a space station called The Oracle, which your companions will note is not on the charts.
Getting closer will reveal a strange call for help, adding a quest to your log titled What Remains, kicking off the events of Starfield: Shattered Space and leading you to planet of Va'ruun'kai in the Kavnyk system. This is the homeworld of House Va'ruun, a strange faction that worships the Great Serpent.
While you are technically allowed to start playing the expansion from this point on, it's highly recommended that you be around level 35 or above, as the DLC has some challenging stuff that's not meant for a completely fresh character to face down.
Starfield: Shattered Space LOOKUP FAILED bug
Some players are reporting encountering a bug where their companions' dialogue triggers as normal, but the quest and space station don't appear, while subtitles give the all-caps message LOOKUP FAILED.
If this happens to you, you need to exit the game and make sure you've installed both Starfield: Shattered Space and the latest game update. Installing the update and restarting the game with a save from before the bug should fix the problem.
Starfield and Starfield: Shattered Space are currently available on Xbox Series X|S consoles and Windows PC. The Standard Edition of Starfield is included in Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscriptions.
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