Starfield backstory explained: humans arrive on Mars in 27 years
And fight several space wars.
Bethesda has laid down some of Starfield's backstory, detailing the events which take us from 2023 to 2330 - when the game's story is set.
Bethesda's timeline begins in 2050, when humans first arrive on Mars. Such a date is relatively consistent with NASA's own estimates of when humanity will touch down on the Red Planet, after returning to the Moon later this decade.
After that, Bethesda jumps forward 56 years to humanity's 2156 arrival in Alpha Centauri, the nearest star system to the Sun. And it's here we really start to enter science fiction.
Back in real life, NASA has said it aims to send an unmanned spacecraft to Alpha Centauri in 2069, though predicts it will take 44 years even with as-yet-to-be-tested solar sail technology travelling at 10 percent the speed of light. That puts humanity's first robot probe in Alpha Centauri in 2113, with a signal back home taking another four years.
In Starfield, humanity itself reaches Alpha Centauri just 39 years later, apparently to stay. In 2159, the United Colonies are established. A year later, the city of New Atlantis is founded and becomes the United Colonies capital.
Of course, things don't stay peaceful. A separate alliance - the Freestar Collective - is quickly founded and within about 40 years there's a war between it and the United Colonies over territory. This first interstellar war - named the "Narion War" after the local star system it involves - drags on for two decades before a peace treaty is signed.
After 50 years of relative peace, the heroic Constellation organisation is formed in 2275 to answer the mysteries of the universe. The group eventually discovers its first "Artifact" of seemingly non-human origin in 2310.
Meanwhile, humans are getting busy fighting again. A shorter conflict, dubbed the Colony War, kicks off in 2307 and lasts for four years - and this time leaves the United Colonies on the backfoot. The result is the founding of the UC Vanguard, a civilian force used to protect the organisation's interests.
Bethesda's timeline wraps up with various characters you'll meet joining the UC Vanguard and Constellation as the time period covered by Starfield in-game begins. Its last point, in 2328, is the purchase of a spacestation to be used by Constellation for scanning deep space, dubbed "The Eye".
And that's where Starfield itself will begin: two space wars later, with various factions and at least one alien artefact lying around.
Starfield touches down on PC and Xbox Series X/S (including via Game Pass) on Friday 8th September - though you can also pay for a fancier edition of the game to get early access from the 1st September.