Cyberpunk 2077 vs Starfield
A dense, story-driven city versus a procedural universe — both are vast but reward different kinds of curiosity.
Updated 11d ago
Fixed since 2.0 and worth it at $18 — Night City and the writing carry it, but the build variety is thinner than the skill tree pretends.
Free Lanes finally fixed the space travel — you can cruise between planets now — but the procedural planets and the weak main story are untouched.
By the numbers
Prices checked Aug 7; they move faster than we refresh, so confirm on the store page.
Recent-review figures are Steam's own last-30-days window, read Aug 7.
| Measure | Cyberpunk 2077 | Starfield |
|---|---|---|
| Value Cyberpunk 2077 wins on value | ||
| Price now | $17.99 −70% · Steam | $34.39 −31% · GreenManGaming |
| All-time low | $17.99 | $34.39 |
| Cost / hour | $0.69/hr $17.99 · 26 h main story | $1.44/hr $34.39 · 24 h main story |
| Off its low | At its low low was Jun 2026 | At its low low was Jul 2026 |
| Main story | 26 h | 24 h |
| Health Cyberpunk 2077 wins on player health | ||
| Steam reviews | 87% 968k reviews | 57% 175k reviews |
| Recent reviews | 95% 13k votes · vs 87% lifetime · improving | 63% 396 votes · vs 57% lifetime · improving |
| Peak players | 101,348 Jul 2026 · ↑ 16% MoM | 7,294 Jul 2026 · ↓ 8% MoM |
| Launch peak | 12% of Dec 2020 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 | 2% of Sep 2023 launch peak · as of Jul 2026 |
| All-time peak | 830,387 Dec 2020 | 330,597 Sep 2023 |
| Support | ||
| Last patch | 11 months ago | 8 weeks ago |
| Patch cadence | 0 in last 90 days | 2 in last 90 days |
| Steam Deck | Gold | Gold |
Shared scale — same months across the bottom, same player-count axis up the side, so the two lines are directly comparable. A shorter line means a younger game.
What players say
Patterns from long-haul reviewers, taken from each game's verdict. Not live sentiment — each side is dated below.
Cyberpunk 2077
Long-haul players credit Night City itself: 100-hour reviewers point to the density and the character writing as the reason they finished it twice.
Reviewers past 150 hours flag build sameness — different weapon specialisations end up playing alike, which flattens a second run.
from our July 2026 verdict
Starfield
Long-haul pilots credit the ship builder and the mod scene with carrying exploration well past what the vanilla planets offer.
Reviewers with four-figure hour counts say the handcrafted content thins out fast and repeated points of interest turn planet-scanning into filler.
from our July 2026 verdict
Key differences
Which one is for you?
Pick Cyberpunk 2077 if
- You prioritize story and atmosphere over gameplay variety.
- You want to explore a dense, handcrafted city.
- You are buying at a discount and forgive past bugs.
Pick Starfield if
- You love building and customizing ships.
- You enjoy Bethesda's 'pick up everything' loot loop.
- You are on PC and willing to install mods.
Bottom line
Choose Cyberpunk for its narrative and city; choose Starfield if ship building and mod-friendly exploration are your priorities.