This sad fact about dogs in Starfield is more horrific than any uncanny NPC

Ollie the Labrador Retriever enjoying water
Ollie the Labrador Retriever enjoying himself in the water. (Image credit: Future)

What you need to know

  • An item description in Starfield states that Labrador Retrievers are extinct.
  • The sad fact has led many to ask if all dogs are extinct within the game.
  • Pets appeared in official artwork for Starfield but do not appear in gameplay.

Starfield may be full of bugs, but there's one thing it's not full of, Labrador Retrievers. The famous X account Can You Pet the Dog? highlighted that sad fact with a screenshot of the popular game. The image shows a box of chocolates that are ironically shaped like dogs, which cannot eat chocolate. The box explains that Labrador Retrievers are not around in the game.

"Centauri Mills' chocolates, shaped like an extinct canine called a Labrador Retriever," states the item's in-game description. The item also restores five health, though that's a small consolation when considering the information it shares about our fury friends.

The extinction of Labrador Retrievers led some to question if there are any dogs in the game. Concept art for Starfield showed pets, but there don't appear to be any in the game. Perhaps all pets, including cats, dogs, and turtles have gone extinct in Starfield.

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Up until this point, the scariest part of Starfield was when someone added horror music to the uncanny Starfield NPCs. Now we know that the true horror is an entire galaxy without dogs. That's not a space I want to live in.

While you can't play with, or even see, dogs in Starfield, you can explore the cosmos with your furry friend by your side. The Secretlab Titan XXS, which I reviewed last year, is a tiny gaming chair that's the perfect size for a dog. Though with its price tag I'd suggest you use it for more than that, such as adding a place for a child to sit at your battlestation.

Sean Endicott
News Writer

Sean Endicott is a News Writer at Windows Central, where he covers Windows 11, Surface hardware, Microsoft 365, AI, apps, and the broader PC ecosystem. Since joining the site in 2017, he has written well over a thousand articles across the Microsoft landscape, covering breaking news, analysis, and feature reporting.

He writes Windows Wrap, a weekly column covering the biggest stories in Windows and the PC industry, and what they mean for the platform going forward.

Before joining Windows Central full-time, Sean worked in journalism and media production after earning a First Class degree in Broadcast Journalism from Nottingham Trent University. Outside of tech, he is an award-winning American football coach based in Nottingham, England, and was named BAFCA Youth Coach of the Year in 2024.