Starfield companions will join you as you explore the galaxy and might be a lot more useful than in previous Bethesda buddies. They'll be around to help you fight, obviously, but can also help with things like dialogue and will react to the players behaviour and choices. Right now there's only one companion confirmed for Starfield, a robot called Vasco. But we'll obviously see more in Starfield when it releases. For now, take a look at the first of many Starfield companions, their abilities and uses, and what else we can expect from the people that join you.
All Starfield companions so far
Right now the only Starfield companion we know about is Vasco, a robot associated with Constellation - one of the major Starfield factions. Vasco was revealed in gameplay trailers initially, but later detailed in an official video, where it's is described as:
"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 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.
The only other NPC we have any information on at the moment is an Adoring Fan. One of the the Starfield traits you can pick is called "Hero Worshipped" and choosing it grants 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…" That doesn't sound like a full time companion like Vasco, but it is at least another NPC that will regularly, albeit randomly, interact with you.
How Starfield companions work
Vasco's description suggests Starfield companions will be able to hold gear and, obviously, aid in combat - much like previous Bethesda games. However, there are several other features that make them sound more dynamic and useful. Companions will comment on what you're doing and choices you make, even if it, as laid out in this video. "We leaned into how these other characters feel about you," says Todd Howard, talking about the relationships you can form. There's also been mention of assigning crew members both to starships as part of Starfield ship customization, and to the bases you can build on planets.
Whether companions can be part of Starfield romances and relationships remains to be seen, and Vasco is obviously an unlikely candidate to give anything away there. However, we noticed 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.
