As Starfield Free Lanes gives players their first pets, producer Tim Lamb laughs that cats and dogs are probably all dead

Starfield character standing next to a no dogs allowed sign

•

March 27 2026

It’s well known in Starfield that a large number of animal breeds on Earth are extinct. Set in a dystopian future where humanity is spread thin across the stars, Earth’s magnetosphere completely collapsed, and many animals (and most humans) didn’t make it off the planet.

There is in-game evidence that at least some breeds of household pets are defintiely extinct. Chocolate Labs, an in-universe treat of dog-shaped chocolates are “shaped like an extinct canine called a Labrador Retriever”, but it’s not known if all dogs have been wiped from the universe.

Additionally, there is evidence that cats do exist in Starfield’s universe, or at least a few made it off-planet. In a text log on a derelict ship, it’s noted that a cat ate a figurine. However, it’s not known how old the text log is or if the population of cats continued to decline after the death of the Earth.

In a roundtable interview to discuss the reveal of Starfield’s new Free Lanes update, a game-changing update that caused Bethesda to reformat all existing content to fit a now-open universe, lead producer Tim Lamb discussed the possibility of adding cat and dog pets to the game. As the update adds new pets, namely the alien Milliweed Pet, other pets could be added to the game as well, especially as Bethesda commits to years of additional Starfield support.

When asked “when can we have companion cats or dogs”, Lamb hinted that the animals could be entirely extinct at this point in the Starfield timeline. “TBD,” he responded after a hearty laugh some might describe as maniacal. “I mean, did cats and dogs survive the destruction of Earth?” he concluded with a large smirk.

The extinction of cats and dogs has been a topic that Bethesda has been wise not to confirm or deny within the world of Starfield, and Lamb would not confirm if the beloved household pets have survived in any capacity by the time the player character is active within the dystopian universe. Obviously, dogs have been a major part of Bethesda games in the past with many playing Fallout 4 exclusively with Dogmeat as their companion.

It’s the little mysteries like this that keep Starfield’s unique sci-fi universe engaging. There is quite a lot of depth in the game’s backstory that could be explored in future DLCs. Hell, the game is a multiverse game, after all. Maybe, in one universe, dogs and cats are all that survived the destruction of Earth. (Honestly, killing all the dogs and cats is a pretty bold move for a mainstream RPG.)

Starfield Free Lanes, Terran Armada, and the game’s new PlayStation 5 port will release simultaneously on April 7, 2026.

About The Author

Lewis White

Lewis White is a veteran games journalist with over a decade in the field. Starting with beloved Xbox website ICXM/XboxMAD, Lewis became the Gaming Editor at MSPoweruser before becoming the Editor in Chief of StealthOptional and Gfinityesports. Lewis later jumped to By Gamers For Gamers where he jumped to become EIC of VideoGamer and the host of the New VideoGamer Podcast prior to the website’s acquisition.

Over the years, Lewis has also seen long-form investigative pieces published in outlets such as Eurogamer, PCGamesN, Wireframe, Retro Gamer, Nintendo Life, and EDGE. Now, as the Editor in Chief of FRVR Blog, Lewis strives to bring the same level of quality journalism with interview-led content to the site in both written and audio form with the FRVR Podcast.

With a First Degree BA Hons in Games Journalism and Public Relations, Lewis has been a stable part of the British games press for over a decade, and has frequently displayed his love of Halo, The Elder Scrolls, Fallout, and other games pretty much everywhere he’s worked. And FRVR is no different.

See author's posts