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.