Starfield Terran Armada expansion out alongside PS5 release

Terran Armada will be available alongside the RPG's PS5 release

Starfield is getting a new story expansion about an army of murderous robots, Bethesda Game Studios announced Tuesday. Called Terran Armada, it'll be available on April 7 for all platforms — the same day Starfield comes to PlayStation 5 after more than two years of Xbox console exclusivity.

Terran Armada is the second major expansion for Starfield, following 2024's Shattered Space. That expansion sent players to the homeworld of House Va'ruun, Starfield's religious zealot faction, whose members worship a god known as the Great Serpent. Shattered Space was not received well. Reviewers criticized its short length, tight focus, singular area, and accompanying $30 price tag.

Terran Armada isn't limited to just one planet. Rather, an antagonist force of humans, controlling said army of killer robots, invades the Settled Systems, the cluster of solar systems that serves as Starfield's setting. (Bethesda calls these invasions "incursions.") It's up to you to face them. Terran Armada will also add new weapons, ships, characters, crew members, and enemies to the game.

"Post-launch, prior to Shattered Space, we had heard the feedback: 'We want a more traditional Bethesda experience. We want something that's like a handcrafted location, a story, some place I don't have to leave, a place that I can sort of live in that area.' So that was sort of the core of Shattered Space," Starfield lead creative producer Tim Lamb said in a group interview attended by Polygon ahead of Tuesday's announcement. "Then, after we released Shattered Space, we had heard that it was like, 'But we want something that's more of a galactic impact, something that goes across the stars.'"

Bethesda designed Terran Armada to work alongside Starfield's Free Lanes update, a free patch which also rolls out on April 7 and adds, among other things, the ability to fly between planets. But the Terran Armada's forces can cause problems there, adding a wrinkle of tension to a galactic map players have criticized for being too empty.

"In most cases, if you wanted to avoid ship combat, you could. You power-up your grav drive, you jump away," Lamb said. "Now, the Terran Armada has the technology that prevents that, but only in a radius. So you'd want to try to fly away and avoid combat, or you can see the Terran Armada on the star map and avoid the system altogether."

Terran Armada will be included as part of Starfield's premium edition, which is now sold for $69.99, or be available stand-alone for $9.99. According to Lamb, to start it, you'll first need to make your way through the main quest and reach The Lodge.