Starfield New Game Plus explained

Starfield's New Game Plus mode is one of the best in gaming history, so we'll break down all the details

If you’ve reached the end of Starfield’s story, then you’ll know the gargantuan task that stretches out ahead of you. Upon entering Unity, you’ll become Starborn and step through into a brand new universe, one where the events of the game’s story haven’t happened yet. That’s right, it’s New Game Plus.

This mode resets the game, the world, and your possessions back to zero while letting you keep certain aspects of your skillset. We’ll run down everything that carries over into New Game Plus, as well as the new items and story content you can potentially encounter.

There's much more to discover in this game, so check out our Starfield walkthrough for more.

What carries over in New Game Plus? – Starfield

Bethesda

Unlike most games, Starfield actually has an in-universe explanation about what does and doesn’t carry over into New Game Plus. The short version is that your physical being is left behind, meaning all of your possessions are lost, but your spirit and being move on to the next world and become Starborn.

Here is what you keep in New Game Plus:

• Your level and all your unlocked skills
• Your Starborn Powers
• Your achievement progress

Here’s what you lose:

• All your items, including equipment and weapons
• All your credits
• All your registered ships
• All your side-quest and faction progress
• All your outposts and purchased player homes

What new content is in New Game Plus? – Starfield

Bethesda

You won’t be left with absolutely nothing, thankfully, as you’ll be given a free Starfield ship in the form of the Starborn Guardian. This is a pretty good ship – although there are still better ones out there that you can track down.

You’ll also get a new spacesuit with excellent stats, so you won’t have to worry about being too weak in this new playthrough. This gear and ship will gradually get stronger and stronger each time you take another crack at New Game Plus too.

The Starborn Temples are out there in the new universe too, albeit with randomized locations. Finding them again will allow you to upgrade your Starborn powers. Similarly, there is a new trader out there that you can randomly encounter in the galaxy. This trader will sell you rare and unique items if you can find them.

Can you change traits/background in New Game Plus? – Starfield

Bethesda

No, your traits and background are fixed the moment you exit the character creator when starting a completely fresh new game. However, if you picked benefits like Kid Stuff or Dream Home, you will get those benefits again whenever you start a New Game Plus run.

How to skip the main story in New Game Plus – Starfield

Bethesda

The story can play out a little differently in a New Game Plus run. As you have foreknowledge of all the events, you can reveal the mysteries of the universe to Constellation as soon as you meet them, effectively skipping the main story entirely. All that remains from there is to gather the artifacts. You can also save everyone in the High Price to Pay Starfield quest.

It doesn’t just stop there though, and we highly recommend you play through New Game Plus multiple times as some truly wild and unexpected things can occur that we don’t want to spoil.