Why are there no dogs in Starfield?

Brianna Reeves
starfield dogs

A Starfield item description seems to reveal why players won’t be running across dogs and other pets while exploring outer space.

Though the overall Fallout 4 experience proved divisive amongst fans, most agreed that Dogmeat represented the best companion.

With that in mind, many hoped Bethesda Game Studios would add a canine companion to Starfield. And concept art hinted that pets of some kind would feature in the RPG.

But those who explored the game during its early access period quickly learned that the fate of pets in Bethesda’s far-flung future doesn’t look too good.

Dogs in Starfield may be extinct

Starfield takes place in the year 2330, nearly two centuries after humans landed on Mars in-universe. Apparently, man’s best friends didn’t get to travel the galaxy by humanity’s side.

Twitter account Can You Pet the Dog catalogs pettable animals in games and recently shared a screenshot showing Labrador Retrievers have gone extinct in Starfield.

This piece of lore comes courtesy of a “Chocolate Labs” item description, which details the chocolate brand that restores player health by five points. The description reads as follows, “Centauri Mills’ chocolates, shaped like an extinct canine called a Labrador Retriever.”

It’s unclear if this revelation means that every breed of dog is extinct in the Starfield universe. But the post from Can You Pet the Dog claims players shouldn’t expect to encounter dogs of any kind while exploring. Other types of pets, such as the cat seen in concept art, have also yet to appear.

The reason for the Labrador Retriever’s extinction serves as yet another mystery. If the secret is tucked away in another item description in Starfield, it would seem players have not yet found it.

About The Author

Brianna graduated from SHSU in 2018 with a Master's degree in English Literature. In the past, she's written for Comic Book Resources, PlayStation LifeStyle, and Screen Rant. On top of penning scripts for GVMERS, Brianna covers the latest gaming news for Dexerto. Her expertise lies in PlayStation, single-player games such as Assassin's Creed, and anything Batman-related. You can contact her at brianna.reeves@dexerto.com.