The Buddy system drew inspiration from the Girlfriends of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and soldier management in XCOM, in addition to smaller influences from other companion systems in games including BioShock and Ico.
The Buddy system's design draws inspiration from the "Girlfriends" feature of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, as well as soldier management systems present in XCOM and other companion-based games like BioShock and Ico.