'Donnie Brascao' provided inspiration for a quest in 'Starfield'.

Johnny Depp portrayed the titular role of Joseph D. Pistone, an FBI undercover agent who infiltrated the Bonanno crime family in New York City during the 1970s, under the alias Donnie Brasco, while posing as a jewel thief in the 1997 crime drama loosely based on true events.

And lead quest designer Will Shen took to the 'Starfield' Discord server to answer a question about whether there will be the chance to be a double agent in the upcoming Sci-Fi action role-playing game developed by Bethesda.

Shen said: “All of the playable factions can be completed independently.

“The Crimson Fleet storyline does feature you being an undercover agent inside the Fleet on behalf of UC SysDef (a specific military branch of the United Colonies), but whether you betray the Fleet or UC SysDef is a choice you will get to make.”

Studio design director Emil Pagliarulo noted that Donnie was their inspiration, adding: “In the studio, I have been (half-jokingly) accused of referencing movies that some folks have never seen, because I’m old.

“HOW FAR WILL YOU GO?!”

The factions to expect are Constellation, Crimson Fleet, Freestar Collective, Ryujin Industries, and United Colonies.

The game sends "intrepid explorers on a mission to discover the secrets of the universe."

The galaxy is known as The Settled Systems and is located outward from the Solar System for approximately 50 light-years.

Cities introduced include New Atlantis, which is “the biggest city that Bethesda has ever made, not just in size."

Meanwhile, the "Companions you bring with you, and the crew you hire on, will provide different bonuses to your ship and outpost."

Skills include Xenosociology, which enables the player to telepathically control aliens.

As for the ships, players can "build, customise and upgrade your roster of ships."

A blog post further teased: "From the surfaces of over 1,000 planets to the space in between, discovering what’s out there is nearly limitless. All of this is powered by new technology, which allowed Bethesda Game Studios to create completely unique experiences for every player, while still applying all of the hand-crafted care players have come to expect."

'Starfield' launches on Xbox Series X|S and PC on September 6.