Since the release of the dramatic and exciting Starfield gameplay trailer in 2022, Bethesda has been largely silent about revealing any new details about the game.

However, it seems that one astute gamer has discovered a Starfield feature that has been hidden from view ever since the release of that gameplay trailer.

The discovery, posted in a Starfield subreddit thread (open in new tab), was made after the gamer happened to see an option to "pickpocket" an NPC in one frame of the gameplay trailer.

In early gameplay footage, while the player is fighting a large number of space pirates in a dark facility, one enemy runs up to the player and just before he is killed, the pickpocket option flashes for one frame and the player is given the chance to press the "A" button on his controller to do it The player is given the opportunity to do so. This is a close-up.

After this one frame, the pirate is killed and the command immediately changes to the much more obvious "transfer" option, indicating that the now dead enemy can be looted.

This really is a moment that could be missed if you blinked, and it is easy to see why so many missed it, as the gamer's attention is undoubtedly preoccupied with the gunplay action that is taking place.

I myself have already seen the gameplay trailer for "Starfield" many times, and this pickpocket discovery went right over my head every time.

No need to be surprised that Bethesda, developer of "Skyrim (open in new tab)," "Fallout 3 (open in new tab)," "Fallout 4 (open in new tab)," and "Oblivion (open in new tab)," has a pickpocket mechanic in its new open-world RPG.

PC Gamer.

As PC Gamer writer Christopher Livingston has previously noted, pickpocketing notes from an assassin's ass in "Oblivion" without being noticed is one of the best moments in PC gaming.

I also never tire of reverse-slipping live explosives on an unwary enemy NPC. There is something hilarious and silly about it. Why simply shoot the bad guys when you can slip a grenade in their pants?

But now that I've witnessed this discovery, what I really want to know is whether pickpocketing in "Starfield" will be a bit more sophisticated and less junkie than in past Bethesda titles. For example, I don't want to be given the option of pickpocketing an opponent who lunges at me in an attempt to cave my skull in.

The player crouches down, turns the corner, enters the room, and the enemy rushes in fully aware of him. It is truly an immersion-breaking prank.

Also, for Suri to be better than past Bethesda open-world RPGs in "Starfield," he will need a more sophisticated stealth system. From what I have seen in this gameplay trailer, the player crouches down and slowly sneaks around a corner into a room, and even though the space pirate has his back to the player and is not looking at him, as soon as the player enters the room, the pirate automatically detects the player and begins attacking.

I don't want to read too much into what is clearly a staged gameplay reveal trailer that was likely dropped more than a year before the full game was actually released, but these are valid questions. If "Starfield" is going to offer players the ability to pickpocket, we want it to be in sync with the gameplay system and immersion.

Like millions of other gamers, I have high hopes for "Starfield," but it is the immersion and role-playing aspects that appeal to me most. And if I could approach someone in a space suit, fully aware of my presence, and pickpocket their oxygen supply directly or put a small nuclear weapon in their pants, that immersion would be broken. In the case of a nuke, though, it would be quite funny.

If you'd like to take another look at the gameplay trailer for "Starfield" and see for yourself, you can check it out directly below.