Starfield companions will serve a greater role than in previous Bethesda games, not just fighting with you, but potentially aiding in dialogue too. At the time of writing there's only been one proper companion for Starfield announced - a big robot - but it's clear we'll see more in the finished game, and potentially more revealed closer to release. For now, we'll show you what to expect from the Starfield companions, including their abilities and uses in their game.
All Starfield companions we know of so far
At the time of writing the only Starfield companion that's been officially announced is Vasco, a robot associated with Constellation, one of the major Starfield factions. Revealed in gameplay trailers but detailed more specifically in this official video, Vasco is described accordingly:
"As an early model built by Lunar Robotics, Vasco was refurbished to meet the requirements of Constellation's mission. He's a utilitarian, heavy-industrial machine well suited to the rigours of space travel. Vasco's design is based on a standard Type-A bipedal chassis capable of traversing rough terrain, along with all the survival gear and payload capacity needed for extended overland journeys. Vasco does have defensive capabilities should the need arise, but his primary role is peaceful.
"He wears the white-and-red livery of Constellation, though many years in the field have worn the paint and dented a few panels. But he's still the reliable companion that an intrepid explorer like yourself can depend on."
In the official gameplay reveal, we see Vasco - or a robot just like him, it's not entirely clear - leaving the player's ship and giving quest details, including locations and commenting on enemies ahead. Right now, descriptions of Vasco kind of make him sound like a pack mule at heart - a big walking ally who can carry useful gear and spare loot, defending himself to a limited degree.
That being said, we've also seen hints of a potential secondary companion, the Adoring Fan. This is actually a reference to Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion, where a character obsessed with you constantly showed up to alternatively annoy you or provide gifts. Here, one of the the Starfield traits you can pick is called "Hero Worshipped", granting the following bonus:
"You've earned the attention of an annoying "Adoring Fan" who will show up randomly and jabber at you incessantly. On the plus side, he'll give you gifts…"
We're not sure yet if the Adoring Fan will reach the point of being a full-time companion - or even if you'd want them to be - but they will be a (somewhat) useful NPC, so it's worth bringing them up.
How Starfield companions work
Companions will have several features in Starfield that apparently make them more dynamic and useful than simply being combatants who will shoot anybody who shoots at you. The main feature mentioned is that companions will comment on choices the players make, even if it doesn't affect them directly, as laid out in this video.
Vasco's description also makes it seem like companions will be able to hold gear for the player and obviously aid in combat - continuing the trend from previous Bethesda game companions - though mentions have been made of assigning crew members both to starships as part of Starfield ship customization, and to the bases you create on planets.
Whether companions can be part of Starfield romances and relationships remains to be seen (though who wouldn't want to give Vasco a cuddle?), but we noticed that in this interview (54.02), Todd Howard uses the term "companion" when talking about potential romances in Starfield. Whether he's using the phrase more generally or actually referring to Companions in Starfield remains to be seen, but it seems very plausible that work romances might be able to develop between the player and hireable NPCs.
