The update arrives as reviews drop to "Mixed" on Steam.
One spaceship blowing up another spaceship in space.

The long-awaited addition of official DLSS support to Starfield is here with the game's latest public update. This update was originally released as an opt-in beta earlier in November. It has now been pushed out to everyone playing Starfield on PC.

This new update will allow Nvidia users of capable cards to utilize features like DLSS, DLSS, Nvidia Reflex, and DLSS frame generation in Starfield. Today's addition of these Nvidia technologies arrive a bit late to the party as this AMD sponsored title shipped only with support for AMD's own FSR scaling technology.

Today's update brings the game to version 1.8.86 on PC and includes a slew of other changes beyond the addition of the Nvidia technologies. For instance, you can now eat food immediately without having to pick it up first and eat it from your inventory menu. Other noteworthy improvements include fixes for memory leaks, GPU performance optimizations (mostly for high-end GPUs), improvements to the render threading model (good for high-end CPUs), and the usual improvements to stability.

Though the full changelog can be found below, it should be noted here that several users are reporting some issues with this update. Notably, this update seems to break the FOV for players that set it to anything but the default value. The FOV slider was also something implemented into Starfield in an update released on October 9, a month after the game's release.

Total Gaming Network's review of Starfield called the game "soulless," having failed to push the formula forward in any meaningful way while regressing in several key areas. Steam user reviews for Starfield have now dropped to "Mixed," with just 69% of all reviews being positive. Recent user reviews for Starfield are also "Mixed," but with only 48% being positive.

Starfield Update 1.8.86 changelog - November 20, 2023

UPDATE HIGHLIGHTS

NVIDIA DLSS SUPPORT
This update introduces Nvidia DLSS support for our PC players. Compatible Nvidia graphic cards can now use DLSS Super Resolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS Frame generation.

LET THEM EAT!
By popular request, we have added the ability to ingest food and drink items upon finding them in the environment. You can enjoy those Chunks immediately or save them for later. The choice is yours.

FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS

PERFORMANCE AND STABILITY
  • Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
  • Added some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
  • Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
  • Various stability and performance improvements.
GAMEPLAY
  • Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world.
  • Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
  • Fixed an issue where Andreja’s head would stay permanently cloaked.
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
  • Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes (Note: This issue may resolve itself over time).
  • Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
  • Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
  • PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
  • Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
  • Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.
  • Fixed an issue where occasionally the camera could shake incorrectly during Traveling, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.
GRAPHICS
  • Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
  • Optimized initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
  • Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
  • Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
  • Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
  • Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
  • Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
  • Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.
  • PC: Addressed additional visual issues related to DLSS.
QUESTS
  • All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn’t sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
  • Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
  • Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective “Secure the Shuttle Bay”.
  • Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players' quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
  • Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if “Supra et Ultra” was completed while returning to the Lodge during “High Price to Pay”.
  • No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
  • Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
  • Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
  • Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
  • The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the “The Heart of Mars”.​