Starfield's design director Will Shen and designer Emil Pagliarulo have recently announced that players will be able to have a crew of more than 20 named characters. They also revealed that specific ship upgrades would be required for smuggling illegal cargo in populated areas.

During a Discord Q&A that was transcribed in full on Reddit, Pagliarulo explained that hiding illegal items would require special ship modules available for purchase. Though the game's economy is static, the prices of goods change based on the skills one picks.

On the matter of recruitable crew members, Shen disclosed that there would be over 20 named characters ready to join the player's crew. While four of them come from Constellation and have the most extensive backstories, all characters have their own unique backgrounds.

Observing the popularity and effectiveness of companions from their previous games, Starfield's pre-production considered them a major priority, according to Pagliarulo. He shared that there would be significant interactions with them, and commended the voice cast, though the list of voice actors is yet to be released.