Starfield’s Pickpocketing Will Make Things Way More Intense by Playing Out in Real-Time

Players who enjoy stripping Bethesda NPCs (often literally) of everything they’re worth won’t have such an easy time of it in Starfield as pickpocketing will happen in real-time.

Space thieves will have an extra level of intensity when picking the pockets of poor NPCs as, unlike in previous Bethesda games like Skyrim or Fallout 4, time won’t pause while doing so in Starfield.

A Reddit post from OkPain2022 shared a sliver of Starfield gameplay previously gone unnoticed that shows the player creeping around behind an unsuspecting guard as they pull items from their person.

Players no longer have all the time in the world to weigh up the odds of taking items (which are presented alongside a percentage chance of alerting the NPC), significantly raising the stakes.

Some users also wondered if this means lockpicking will happen in real-time too. “I wonder if lock-picking will be the same way,” said baw2112 in the replies. “It is in Dying Light and adds a considerable amount of anxiety while trying to lock pick with baddies nearby.”

Starfield is perhaps the most anticipated video game release in recent memory and has therefore captured the attention of fans in some wild and wonderful ways. Virtual sandwiches got people talking about it being locked at 30 frames per second, for example, while an ESRB rating revealed drugs, in-game purchases, and jetpack sex.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.